Eclipse's Influence
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to The Headless Brigade. The Akihara guys and girls were finally enjoying their summer vacations but trouble soon pops up: a criminal though to be dead is back with powerful accomplices. A mysterious figure named "Eclipse" begins to help them chase the criminal across the nation yet... Is this figure trustable or is it another trap by the enemy? Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Cloaked samurai

**Eclipse's Influence**

 **By Zoram Selrof**

 **Chapter 1: Cloaked** _ **samurai**_

12:22 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 2nd, 2012...

"... Alright! My gals and guys enchanted by Yaito – sama~!"

"What next, Yaito – chan?"

"Don't be so impatient, Meiru – chan. I've got a QUIZ!"

"It better be intelligent."

"You're constantly teasing us to begin with."

"Someone save my sanity~...!"

"Calm down, Glyde... Sheesh."

Hikari Netto, his brother Saito, Sakurai Meiru and Ayanokouji Yaito were talking as they were enjoying a bath in Yaito's pool.

Netto and Saito (aged 15) wore blue and green swimming trunks, respectively, while Meiru sported a crimson bikini: Yaito wore a pink one-piece swimsuit and used a yellow flotation ring with duck faces drawn on its surface: Glyde, Yaito's Navi, was groaning inside of the Link PET (left atop a nearby round table covered by an umbrella) while Roll (whose Link PET was next to Glyde's) was trying to calm him down.

"Someone goes somewhere. The question is… Where's that somewhere? Answer 1: somewhere out there. Answer 2: nowhere in here. Answer 3: dunno." She laughed.

"It's - STUPID!" The twins and Meiru complained.

"It's - INNOVATIVE! Troll F guarantees that!"

"I'm convinced Forte isn't involved this time around." Netto fumed.

"I have that hunch too. That you made it up yourself." Saito added.

"Totally. She sounds like it." Meiru affirmed.

"Now, now. The correct answer was… "Dunno!"… Heh!"

"Sheesh."

"My sanity~…" Glyde groaned.

"Oh come on. You're not gonna go mad out of that, Glyde. Stop being SO defeatist!"

"Were it so easy, Roll – san!"

"Too bad most of the club is away, though!" Yaito made an exaggerated sigh.

"Yeah, we know. Hiro got invited by Zarashe to Shikoku. Noa – kun went to Kyushu with his father. Dekao and his family went to Nagoya. Tooru – kun went to Kansai." Netto calmly listed.

"And we'd gone elsewhere but Papa is, as always, engrossed with his researches and listens to no – one." Saito fumed.

"Yeah. My parents went off on their own and left me behind because they felt like it. I'm not a little girl anymore!" Meiru complained.

"Well! Relax! Here you've got the pool of luck and blessing!"

"HUH? Oh come on."

"By the way! Has there been… something?" Yaito teased.

"NO!" The tree of them energetically protested.

"Pity."

"Life isn't soap operas, Yaito – chan! What about your future duties as the successor president of Gabcom? You don't look like you're taking them too seriously." Meiru scolded.

"That can wait!"

"It won't!" A voice grumbled.

"Yikes! Papa!"

Mr. Ayanokouji showed up there while looking pretty annoyed so all color left Yaito's face.

"10 more minutes. After that the economy teacher will come and you'll have a 2 hour lesson! There'll be an exam afterwards to check if you've been paying attention or not!" He ordered.

"NO WAY~!" Yaito shrieked.

"You will become a RESPONSIBLE daughter! Not some classical spoiled child: look at how Ijuuin – kun has been working as VP for years and is constantly working!"

"KI~H! ENZA~N!" She complained.

"Complaining won't change anything! 9 more minutes! The maids will come pick you up and escort you to the house."

"I can go there MYSELF!"

"Hmpf. Something tells me you won't. You've been constantly trying to slip away!"

"It's August!"

"So what."

"HUH? So what? I've got the right to some vacations!"

"Once you finish the job!"

"No way!"

"Way! I'm going back to greet the teacher and show him to the room. In 6 minutes you MUST be back on the mansion!"

"But…!"

"Your friends? They can continue using the pool as long as they want. I think it'll help them calm down because you always seem to want to purposely annoy them."

"I don't!"

"Don't lie. I've seen and heard it."

"Life is a disgrace~!"

"You've got no right to say that."

"HMPF!"

"Playing prideful won't change anything. 5 minutes."

Mr. Ayanokouji headed back into the manor and Yaito fumed while the others remained silent and were unimpressed: Yaito headed for the stairs, climbed up, and took off the flotation ring before picking the towel.

"Why me?" She complained aloud.

"Because you're too spoiled. And it's about time we fixed that or you'll never be successful in life." Meiru replied.

"Why can't I have some secretaries do the job for me?"

"Because then no – one will take Gabcom seriously. If the president doesn't prove that they're serious and responsible then… Investors will soon lose trust on the business… And there'll be consequences." Meiru scolded her.

"E~H?" She turned white.

"Reality is strict, hard and cruel."

"Yaito – sama. We will escort you to the manor." Two of her maids bowed once they reached the pool.

"Huff. Fine! Just you wait, Papa! I'll show ya how I beat that lesson and get 100 points on it! Piece of a cake!"

She put on the sandals, picked the PET and headed back followed by the 2 maids: the 4 of them (Roll included) sighed in relief.

"At last!" They all sighed.

"Yeah… Someone had to put a stop to her." Meiru fumed.

"I totally agree. Poor Glyde is having such a bad time…"

"By the way, Meiru… I hope you'll behave regarding "that topic"… We did tell you about it: you should be satisfied, no?"

"I am, and I'm sorry. I got a weird mood back then. But you guys' mother made me realize I was being a criminal by using that to pressure you guys into telling me. Really. I can be so stupid from time to time."

"That's not being stupid, Meiru – chan. It's that the temptation was too strong…" Roll replied.

"Guess that. I still have a long way ahead of me if I want to make sure my emotions are stable. You haven't had any news from them since then?"

"No. Guess they've gone back there for now." Saito replied.

"That's a symptom that things over here are stable."

"Oh well. I'm going to check out Internet City. Will you join me later, Saito – kun?" Roll asked Saito.

"Sure, Roll – chan. I'll be there in a while."

"Thanks. Let's meet in 30 minutes at the Central Plaza."

"Deal. In 30 minutes."

"Well then, I'm going. Later."

"Later, Roll. Oh well. Guess we should be leaving because it'll soon be lunch time." Meiru suggested.

"Ok. Let's go, then." Netto shrugged.

The group climbed out of the pool and dried with their towels before putting on the sandals and heading back for the manor: a maid opened a door and they headed inside of a small corridor: there were a couple of guest rooms to the right and a couple of bathrooms to the left: Netto and Saito entered the right room while Meiru entered the left room: Saito shut the door behind them while Netto opened a cupboard and grabbed a gym bag which he opened: it had his usual clothes neatly stored there.

"You go change back first, niisan." Netto invited.

"Thanks, Netto – kun."

Saito picked his bag which had a copy of Netto's clothes yet his vest was blue instead of orange and there was no bandana: he headed into the bathroom and made sure to lock the door from the inside before pulling down his swimming trunks and twisting them to get rid of the water on its body: once he was done he put on a couple of white boxers followed by brownish shorts, a white shirt and the blue vest: he stored the towel and the trunks on the bag and then headed back into the guest room.

"Your turn."

"OK!"

Netto exited while Saito sat on one of the two guest beds: he drew the PET from the shorts' right pocket (colored green) and turned it on: he spotted nothing odd onscreen so he shut it down.

 _As we said before… It'd seem things are stable. Good. Let's go back._

12:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huh? There's someone in front of our house, niisan."

"Hmmm… Yet the "Committee" gentlemen haven't acted. So they must've judged they aren't a threat."

Netto and Saito had been about to reach their home when they spotted a figure standing in front of it: Saito glanced at a nearby azure Honda parked there with 2 occupants.

"… Seya~h! De masu! The glorious Koutarou has come! I defy thee to a battle with thee pride at stake~!"

"HUH? HIGURE – SAN?"

Indeed: the figure turned out to be Higure Yamitarou who wore a rugged brownish cloth and a worn down straw hat: he drew a broom and began to speak in _samurai_ register.

"Yamitarou. Stop acting like an idiot. You got engrossed seeing _The Last Samurai_ yesterday evening." Number Man grumbled.

"Seya~h! Ya~h!" He began to swing the broom.

"Hence why they didn't treat him as a threat." Both sighed.

"Threat? Where? Where is that evildoer? De masu?"

"In your imagination." Number Man shot back.

"W-what does that mean? De masu?"

"THE STORE'S EMPTY: CUSTOMERS ARE WAITING!"

"UWA~H! CUSTOMERS? SAY THAT EARLIER BY KOUTAROU! DE MASU~!"

"YAMITAROU!"

"KOUTAROU! DE MASU!"

Higure rushed away while discussing with Number Man over a name change he'd done to himself: both felt curious and followed to Higureya: Higure rushed in and jumped over the counter while tossing the cloak and hat away: he clasped his hands and offered his best welcoming smile to the perplexity of a customer who was there.

"Sorry for the wait, de masu. I had to repel some evildoers, de masu."

"Huh… Yeah? Ah… Well. Do ya have Elec Swords?"

"Plenty of them, de masu."

"I want 2 of them."

"Immediately, de masu."

The customer was a teen about the twins' age: he was clearly over a meter and sixty centimeters tall, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His face had a smooth form to it, along with a sharp nose.

He wore sunglasses over his eyes.

His green hair was totally messy and grew until the base of the neck while having a purple-colored plastic piece forming an arch starting over the ears and extending backwards but which didn't contribute to keep the shape but rather seemed to be an accessory to appeal as "cool" and fashionable.

His clothing was something rather new and innovative too and seemed to be self-made.

To begin with: his shirt's color was a shade of bright gray and it had a partial vest integrated with it colored using two shades of purple, one brighter and one less bright.

The brighter bands of purple ran across the sleeves starting atop the shoulders and extended until the wrists while also drawing an external edge for the partial torso-only vest.

This vest started at the neck and shoulders but only reached until a third across the height of the upper body: seen from the front it had a form reminiscent of the Alphabet character "U" turned downwards by 180 degrees.

His vest also was innovative in the fact that it included two small yellow squares with what could plastic clips colored orange/red attached to their lower end from below.

His pants were plain and didn't stand out too much save for their purplish coloring and the gray knee protections.

He wore fingerless grayish gloves over his hands as well.

The sneakers, however, were designed to incorporated gray soils into them while the main body was white in color: their design was plain and had no Velcro straps or strings plus a thin yellow stripe running across it climbing upwards as seen from the front edge to then climb downwards.

He lastly carried a silver and purple-colored Link PET the emblem of which was a gray-colored spheroid of energy with thunderbolts emerging from it and aiming for all eight cardinal directions: its rim was painted in a black color as well.

"Good. Do you wish a member card to have access to occasional offers, Mr. Customer? De masu?"

"Sure, why not? Eisei Aaron. Yeah, as in "satellite". Aaron is in _katakana_ with a prolonged "a"." The customer instructed.

"Roger that, de masu. Here it is, de masu. And the Chips, de masu."

"What was with that hat and cloak, anyway?"

"I am the Samurai of Light, Higure Koutarou! De masu!"

"I thought your name was Higure Yamitarou?"

"That's my brother, de masu."

"Don't lie! Your name is Yamitarou and you've got no brothers. You're trying to rhyme with the "samurai of light" thing because "hikari" can be read as "kou" when it's fused with one or more _kanji_!" Number Man scolded.

"Don't rob of my climax! De masu! Seya~h! Bring out thou blade, Samurai of Numbers! De masu~!"

"WHAT NONSENSE IS THAT?"

"Eh… Here's the money, so…" Eisei called out.

"It's alright, Mr. Customer. Have a nice day. Sorry for the show."

"I said draw thou blade! MASU~!"

"Man. The rumors were true." Eisei muttered.

He sighed in defeat and walked away without spotting the twins who were looking on from the opposite lawn: the twins then headed back and rolled their eyes.

"Man. Higure – san can turn SO weird when he feels like it."

"Yeah. Totally."

"Did something happen to Yuuyami – sama?"

"Huh? Forte? Whom do you mean?"

"Heh, heh. I found something amusing."

"Grawl."

Forte appeared on Netto's PET and he sounded amused: a smaller version of the "Gospel" beast could be seen on the background too.

"Do you know "baaroo – sama"?"

"Edogawa Conan, you mean?" Saito guessed.

"Yeah. Well, there was a game about 3 years ago for the DS… A cross-over with the "Kindaichi Case Files" series… The stage was "Yuuyami", or, rather "Twilight" Island… And there was another mysterious island named "Higure" or "Sunset"… Hence why I thought of this joke!"

"Ah. Twilight and Sunset… I see. Well. Problem with Higure – san is that he's gotten obsessed with _The Last Samurai_ and now believes he's the Samurai of Light. To the point that he names himself "Koutarou"."

"Oho. OHO. This is amusing."

"On the contrary, man. It's maddening!"

"Heh, heh! Maddening man dropped by with the 3:33 PM express from Shinjuku?"

"Why Shinjuku of all places?" Netto frowned.

"Maybe because the Metropolitan Police is there? And everyone's favorite Megure – keibu too! BAKAMON!" He imitated the character's voice.

"Alright, alright." They sighed.

"And then… Something happened!"

"What happened?" Both asked.

"Nothing happened."

"Oh come on. That's a horrible teaser." They groaned.

"Charmed."

"So? Did you make sure there are no grunts to chase?" Saito asked.

"Don't worry! They're all buying Hugo Grunt."

"The "Hugo" joke again? Sheesh."

"Grawl."

"What's up, "Gospel Jr."? Oho. It'd seem he's caught some "Hugo Bubble" close by… Which means…"

"Puku! The Anti Heat Mania is completed, de puku! If ya use it then the heat goes away and the cold comes in! De puku! For only 1000 Z! It's a bargain price! Puku!" Bubble Man's voice rang out.

"GRAWL!"

"PUKU~! RUN FOR YOUR BUBBLES AND GADGETS AND WORKSHOPS! DE PUKU~!" Bubble Man ran off.

"Heh, heh! Good job."

"Huff. Another scam." The twins sighed.

"Of scram and can." Forte made up a bad pun.

"How original!" Netto complained.

They'd reached their bedroom on the meanwhile and left their gym bags on the ground.

"Well then. I'm going off to check on Ou – sama and company. I'll bring back blessings and hissings." He made another horrible pun.

"At last!" Netto sighed once Forte left.

"Really… Oh well. I'm going to get moving: I don't want to be late to the appointment with Roll – chan… And don't tease us, Netto – kun." Saito warned him.

"Have I ever done that to begin with?" He asked back.

"No. But you never know."

"Alright. We'll not fight over that."

"Of course not. Well then, I'm going there."

13:01 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hi. Sorry if I'm a bit late. Forte held us up."

"Thought as much."

"Hey. Rock Man and Roll… What's up?"

"Ah. Zero. Not much. The usual."

"Good. I'm rounding up some thieves. See you."

"OK!"

Rock Man met up with Roll in the main square of Internet City: Zero crossed through and they exchanged a few words before he headed elsewhere: they then heard a sound and spotted Blizzard Man skiing down a trail of ice he'd made.

"Yahoo~!"

"Blizzard, you moron! No time for skiing! Time to soar and roar!"

"You're one to talk, Cloud!"

Cloud Man was flying parallel to Blizzard Man and he made up a bad pun so Blizzard Man got annoyed.

"You 2. What happened to the mission?" Cosmo Man suddenly showed up in front of them, fuming.

"Yikes! Cosmo! W-well, it's over!"

"W-well… The grunts surrendered on the spot so…"

"How odd."

"It's not that odd, Cosmo Man… They surely have heard rumors of us and must think we're very powerful…"

"Ah. If you say so, Red Sword…"

A Navi named Red Sword joined them: he had a wild flock of silver hair which came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them.

A purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it.

They ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

His main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest: it consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line: white was golden and silver was right.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside: a purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee.

They had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

"You again!" A familiar voice growled.

"Well, _ani – ue_ , it's not like I intended to get in your way."

"I hate that naming."

"Blues…! Be rational…!"

"Huh! Yes, Enzan – sama!"

Blues happened to be crossing through that spot but got annoyed when he spotted Red Sword and Red Sword addressed him: Ijuuin Enzan opened his communications window and sighed to complain so Blues quickly looked at him and saluted.

"Go get the data from the research lab. That's it. Get it?"

"Roger, sir."

Blues headed back and apparently decided to go through another route to avoid meeting them: the quartet shrugged and headed away too: Rock Man and Roll walked and entered the Official Square: they spotted Guts Man jumping and dancing while Ice Man looked on, unimpressed.

"Guts, guts! Rock Man and Roll – chan! De guts! Guts Man's become a legend! Beat the "S" License Exam!"

"It's a lie. Desu." Ice Man complained.

"Huh! Guts!"

"Obviously."

"He tried to challenge the "A" License Exam. Desu. But couldn't get through the 5th battle. Desu. I did pass it 2 days ago. Desu." Ice Man detailed to them.

"No way, guts. Ice Man passed and Guts Man didn't pass? Guts?"

"Brute force won't do. You need to THINK." Roll sighed.

"Think? Of what? Guts?"

"Of how to beat them!"

"Guts? But Dekao – sama says "Guts Man Infinite Version is the mightiest Navi ever!"…"

"Oh come on. Dekao got arrogant again." Netto groaned.

"Guts… Guts Man's going back, guts…" Guts Man sighed.

"Tooru – kun sends greetings, desu." Ice Man smiled at them.

"OK! Send him greetings from us, too." Roll requested.

"Yes, ma'am! Desu! Goodbye! Desu!"

"Huh? Ah! That's you, Rock Man. Good timing." Gate Man walked up to him.

"Did something happen, Gate Man?"

"Well…" He sighed.

"Papa?" Rock Man guessed.

"Yeah. Meijin tried to convince him again… And he pretended there was no-one there. The security guard saw him working until 3 AM. And he was back at working at 6 AM."

"He only slept 3 hours? Oh come on! Papa! He's going to collapse from lack of sleep one day." Rock Man groaned.

"Yeah… That's what Mejin fears right now…"

"That won't do. I'll go there with Netto – kun and Mama and see if we can convince him between the 3 of us. Even if that means dragging him away from the work desk and bringing him home by force. This has to end: it's turning ridiculous." Rock Man grumbled.

"Totally! Let's go this afternoon after lunch. Nobody questions that Papa is an excellent researcher and he doesn't need to overwork to demonstrate that." Netto suggested.

"Sure."

"Thanks."

"Don't mind it: this topic involves us to begin with."

"Alright. See you later."

Gate Man ran off and Rock Man sighed along with Roll who hadn't said a word: they headed back to Internet City as if to have a change of airs and get rid of their gloomy mood.

"By the way, Rock… Aren't those the Maha Ichiban's Navis?" Roll asked.

"Hum. Yeah. And I can see some Police Navis keeping an eye on them. How odd for them not to be at the restaurant… Huh? There seems to be some kind of speech: a Normal Navi is atop a stage…"

"…national glory!" The Navi finished some speech.

Most of the audience didn't react and only 2 or 3 Navis raised their fists but quickly lowered them when they saw they were the only ones: the speaker seemed to lose all confidence on the spot.

"I repeat! We need a real army! Not some meek imitation! It's for the sake of national glory!" The Navi repeated.

Most of the Navis began to disperse and the Maha Ichiban's Navis (Fire Man, Elec Man, Colored Man and Magic Man) left as well, followed by the Police Navis: Roll suddenly made a grimace and closed her eyes while she tightened her fists: Rock Man said nothing as well but he had a faint glitter of anger on his eyes.

"Eh… I know! Peek Achoo!" Netto tried to animate them somehow.

"What's that supposed to be?" Rock Man frowned.

"A pun on Pikachu?" Roll asked.

"Yeah! Peek Achoo!" Netto laughed.

"Hmmm… Fushigidane is very mysterious indeed." Rock Man seemed to get animated and made a pun as well.

"I played _White 2_ along with Meiru – chan and we managed to clear the League. Now we're shiny-hunting." Roll admitted with a giggle.

"I see. I haven't completed it either but now, thanks to the PTS, you can easily get PKMN from older games."

"Yeah. It's true. And raising them for online matches to have perfect IVs and EVs is quite an effort too."

"The Archduke of Kabigon!" Forte suddenly showed up of nowhere.

"HUH?" Both looked perplexed.

"Heh, heh! I heard you 2 talk 'bout PKMN so I thought I could improvise some joke along the way while I was at it."

"Alright, alright. Now… Will you leave us in peace, Forte?"

"Of course. See ya and beware of the Dalton Bros."

Forte giggled under his breath and ran off: Roll frowned while Rock Man was confused.

"I dunno what the point of that was. Should we go, Roll – chan?"

"Sure, Rock. Let's go check out the e-book store."

"OK. Maybe I'll find something interesting there."

 _Oh well. Let's walk a bit more, go have lunch and then we'll go convince Papa that he needs a vacation. If only he weren't so stubborn…!_


	2. Chapter 2: News

**Chapter 2: News**

11:15 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 3rd…

"… A~h… Another excellent morning at the beach. I can't thank you enough, Zarashe!"

"Don't mind, Akashi – kun. I wanted some company since Uncle is at conferences and meetings most of the time."

"I feel bad about leaving the guys there but maybe they'll soon find a chance to go have a proper holiday."

"Let's hope so."

Two teen guys were chatting as they lied on towels placed on a beach somewhere.

One of them, named Akashi, was about Netto and Saito's age.

He had jet black messy hair and sported sunglasses.

He wore red swimming trunks and was lying atop a reddish towel: he looked amused.

The other, named Zarashe, was lying at his right atop a bluish towel and smiling.

He was about a couple inches taller than Akashi, had black messy hair and green eye irises since he was reading a book in the meanwhile.

He sported black swimming trunks.

"Hiro – kun, I'm back."

"Yo. Delta Team. What happened to FOXHOUND?"

"Hah, hah. That joke's running old. I'm Delta. And they're the Hunters' Guild. Not FOXHOUND."

"Heh!"

Akashi's PET (colored red and white) and having a lowercase "delta" character painted silver over a black background as emblem beeped and his Navi, Delta, projected.

Delta's main body color was jet black while his forearms, boots, shoulder plates, rear-pack and helmet were painted silver.

His face looked strikingly similar to Rock Man's although he had some slight differences regarding the eyes' irises (which were blue) and the shape of his cheek bones.

His emblem was the same _delta_ character set on his chest and ear-pads: the central part of his helmet had a murkier silver color to it plus two rectangles and one band cutting across it starting at the back: some jet black hair came out from behind the helmet as well.

Overall, he looked extremely similar to Rock Man and seemed to be around his height as well.

He looked unimpressed as he was crossing his arms.

"Well. Nothing important seems to have happened insofar."

"Save that Rock and Roll are gonna propose?" Akashi joked.

"That's not funny." Delta scolded in a hushed tone.

"At all." Zarashe agreed with Delta.

"Sheesh." A voice complained.

"Hey. Beta X. How about you?"

"Nothing new either. Some small fry and Bubble Man's scams…"

Zarashe's PET was colored golden and blue while having a golden Alphabet "X" letter as emblem.

The Navi, Beta X, appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted seriousness.

His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and spanning through the middle of the helmet: a red pyramidal jewel aiming downwards (similar to Omega's) had been set directly above his nose.

The helmet included five extensions shaped like wings and colored white plus a golden edge: two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.

His main body's color choice was black: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders.

A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over it: three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them and gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.

His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.

The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge in the shape of a triangle marked the start of it.

The rest of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small and short wing-like extensions.

Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.

Lastly, his feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear of them.

Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.

"Forte's trolling around as usual. And it'd seem Rock Man and his family had to grab Hikari – hakase and spend hours discussing to convince him to stop overworking and going some days away to Gunma to disconnect from the job and all." Beta X sighed.

"Whoa." Zarashe whistled.

"Saw it coming… The hakase is a genius but he overworks himself thinking that he's gotta be proving he's competent 24/7… It's a miracle he hasn't fallen ill from so much overworking." Akashi sighed.

"Guess I should warn Uncle about that, too."

"If you feel like you must…"

"Ah yeah. Now Higure – san's gotten obsessed with _The Last Samurai_ and names himself "The Samurai of Light Higure Koutarou"…"

"Higure Koutarou! Samurai of Light!" Akashi laughed.

"Wasn't that the Chip Store owner? The former WWW man?" Zarashe frowned and recalled.

"Yeah… Man! He's really gotten weird this year! A month ago he was trying to sell "eco-friendly" wooden fans which you had to manually spin with an iron bar… Now this!" Akashi laughed.

"Really…" Zarashe rolled his eyes.

"OK! Freshly picked news: juicy enough! I'm off to the diving zone! I'm counting on ya, Zarashe!"

"Sure, sure."

Akashi stood up and left his sunglasses behind revealing blue eye irises: he ran towards the sea and jumped in to then begin crawling and heading towards the right: Zarashe resumed reading the novel.

"Hey… Is this spot free?" A voice asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah."

"Thanks."

Zarashe looked up and spotted Eisei (who wore green and brown swimming trunks, a white sleeveless shirt, brown sandals and a green cap plus sunglasses) standing to his right and carrying a grayish towel under his right arm: he unfolded the towel and lay there as he drew his PET and checked something: Zarashe was focusing again on his novel while Eisei formed a very quick snicker which went unnoticed: he then pulled up his shirt and placed it behind his head to lean: he began to sun-bathe as he apparently heard to music using the PET and a couple of earphones.

"By the way… Delta… Do you know any "Yuuyami – sama"?"

"Yuuyami? Twilight? No."

"There's an advert that says "Yuuyamiya at Akihara Town! De musa!"…"

"Oh come on. Higure – san got a fit of inspiration and changed his name to Yuuyami." Delta groaned.

"Someone should shower him with cold water."

"Totally."

"Oh, so you're from that town? I dropped by yesterday 'cause a buddy suggested I check it out and I totally freaked. Don't tell me the store owner turned weirder in just 24 hours." Eisei gasped.

"Huh? Yeah. Seems to…" Zarashe timidly replied.

"It's not "seems to". It's totally confirmed by now." Beta X sighed.

"Man. Talk about living in an odd city."

"I don't live there. I live in Kyoto. My friend who went bathing does live there, though."

"My bad, _Danna_."

"Don't mind it. Not like you could know."

"Ah. Of course. Sorry for bothering."

"It's nothing."

Eisei remained quiet while Zarashe kept on reading: Beta X and Delta were talking in a hushed tone: Akashi was still seemingly swimming inside of the sea.

"Hmmm? Another email… From "Duke of Kabigon"… Why do I feel like it's gotta be Forte?" Delta sighed.

"Same here… "Ka-ka-bi-kabi-go-kabigo-n-kabigon!"… How funny."

"Really…" Zarashe sighed.

"We should update the spam filters." Beta X suggested to Delta.

"Of course. Let's get it done NOW. Less headaches."

The Navis vanished inside of their respective PETs: Eisei formed a brief snicker again while Zarashe began to hum a tune.

 _Heh, heh, heh… Tonight… Festival! Heh, heh, heh… Let's have patience and make sure it all goes as planned… Heh, heh, heh… I'm a genius, yessir!_

13:34 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff, huff, huff…! N-no more…!"

"Come on, Papa…"

"Put some more effort into it…"

"Yuuichirou – san: please be cooperative."

"B-but… Huff, huff…"

Netto and Saito had been walking across a town along with Haruka and Yuuichirou but he suddenly sat on a bench and looked like he was already exhausted: Haruka sighed along with her sons.

"You need to do exercise." Haruka told him.

"I know, but…! Having to walk across this town… Couldn't have we done a shorter route?"

"You'll get used to it. You used to love walking around. Don't you remember 2 years ago how we went to meet our high school friends?"

"I know, Haruka, but…! I feel like…!"

"No! No more talk about work. You've proven yourself more than enough and the staff agrees on it. You need to take care of another VERY important duty: your family, Yuuichirou – san! So please try to enjoy!"

"Ahem, ahem… Anyone home~?" A voice called out from Netto's Link PET all of a sudden.

"Eh? Hello? Yes, who is it?"

"I think I've heard it somewhere else." Saito frowned.

Netto picked the PET and activated the hologram display: he gasped and so did Saito.

"Y-you're…!"

"Been a while… About 8 months, I think?"

A Navi had appeared inside of the PET.

Black armor made of an unknown material covered the whole of his body thus protecting him.

The helmet around his head lacked nose or mouth yet it had two cavities for the eyes which were plain red and lacking iris: but they seemed to be a decoration more than his real eyes, too.

His shoulders were plain and didn't have a spheroid form unlike most Navis: he had elbows and the armor over the hands included two small dome-shaped objects with the Alphabet "T" character colored in rainbow colors drawn upon them.

The armor extended across his legs, being thicker around the knees and ended in ellipsoid segments protecting his feet: rainbow-colored lines travelled down their length.

The main body was absent of decoration save for a pattern drawing the same Alphabet "T" letter in the middle of the chest the colors of which were constantly shifting and mixing.

Lastly, four large and irregularly-shaped wings formed behind him: its colors were also constantly shifting, too.

"Tabuu…!" Both whispered.

"What!" Yuuichirou gasped.

"Who?" Haruka wondered.

"I'm afraid we hadn't met before, Hikari – san… Name's Tabuu. A lone Navi. I staged some show last autumn and then had to leave overseas until now…" He quickly introduced himself.

"Oh, I see."

"What are you doing here?" Netto asked.

"Before you ask anything: I came in _aibou_ 's name."

"Zataki – san's?"

"We've got TROUBLE."

"What trouble?" Yuuichirou asked.

"A sneaky youngster."

"Sneaky youngster…? Someone we know of?"

"Yeah… Well, the youngster isn't THAT much of a problem…"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"There's someone who's hired that youngster as an accomplice… A very dangerous man… Whom you know all too well."

"No way! Virus Trip Daemon?" The twins gasped.

"Goodness! That's the villain who kidnapped them…!" Haruka gasped.

"He's alive?" Yuuichirou cursed.

"Sadly enough, yes. Was smug enough to send a message to us through his accomplice. Well. _Aibou_ had the hunch he was. The stunt he pulled was the same I did so… Although Virus couldn't possibly know about my stunt because it isn't recorded anywhere."

"And who's that accomplice?"

"Name's Eisei Aaron."

"Hey! He was in Akihara Town yesterday! He bought Chips at Higureya and signed up for a membership card!" Netto gasped.

"Heck. I knew it. He's come to scout already."

"What's Virus up to this time around?" Yuuichirou asked.

"That's the problem. We still don't know. He staged a little show in an isolated overseas region manipulating some guys and we put a halt to it a few days ago. That's when we got the message. So I rushed here while _aibou_ is finishing explaining to the local authorities. However… If Virus is so devoted to Anaya Maria, the "Ice Queen", then… He won't pull the same plan twice. Because that'd shun him in the eyes of Anaya. And the guy won't do that, obviously enough." He exposed.

"So… When's Zataki – san coming?"

"Tomorrow. Along with Omega. Blood and Sigma will remain on the region to make sure there are no other "backups" left out there."

"Alright."

"Sorry for the timing. Thought you'd be at home…"

"We were until yesterday."

"I see. Sorry for running the good mood but it had to be done."

"It's alright. It's not like we were too animated as of late either."

"But that doesn't mean you need to cancel anything. Because that'd be showing the guy you're afraid. And then the guy wins on the psychological warfare territory."

"Good point."

"By the way: Obihiro wasn't at home either. Seems he's brought his PC along somewhere else. Any ideas?"

"His cousin Akira invited him to his house in Scotland. I dunno the city but if you search for "Akira" you should find him. There can't be that many living out there in Scotland."

"Alright. I'll start searching. See you around."

Tabuu's hologram vanished and the group sighed: they then shrugged and resumed their walk as if nothing had happened.

"Like Tabuu says… We must act like nothing's happened." Yuuichirou looked quite serious by now.

"Exactly, Yuuichirou – san! Which is why… Let's have some _yakisoba_ for lunch: there are 2 or 3 restaurants that are pretty well rated in the travel guide." Haruka smiled and showed them the travel guide.

" _Yakisoba_? Yummy!" Netto got animated.

"Now, Netto – kun. Hold back the Kabigon instincts." Saito suddenly formed a wide grin.

"The glitch…?" Netto sighed in defeat.

"Come back from sightseeing Glitch City!"

"Glitch?" Haruka wondered.

"Ah yeah… It's a glitch on his personality which makes him turn into a joker from time to time… Insofar it seemed to be random but… Sometimes it seems to react to the environment and activate on its own." Yuuichirou explained.

"So! Netto – ku~n! Do you think we'll find a golden Koiking?"

"That was in the _anime_ back when the OS… Kojirou fell for that scam which sounds like something Bubble Man would do…"

"Excellent, _otouto – chan_!"

"Earth, swallow me whole…"

"Speaking of which… Reminds me of an old movie I saw the other day on the TV… I think it was about some miner city named "No Name City" and there was a reverend trying to drive people away from sin… He then went to an arena where a bull and a bear would fight… And said something about the Lord making the earth split open and swallow the bull… And the ground collapsed because there was a mining tunnel underneath the arena…" Haruka recalled with a giggle.

"Is that so? Sounds like something they'd do in the 70s or 80s… It must be quite old… We can look it up later…"

"I already did so! It's named "Paint Your Wagon" and it's an adaptation of a musical… It's from the year '69…" Saito looked up.

"My, my. The year '69… Before we were born…"

"Almost a decade before, indeed." Haruka giggled.

"Oh yeah! By the way! Netto – kun! Did you hire a Lizardon to roast the _yakisoba_?"

"Hah, hah. How original. Saito – niisan." Netto rolled his eyes.

"It might be hidden under the frying board and vomiting a "Flamethrower" at it to heat it up! And to blow things up!"

"Blow things up?"

"… "It's a "Water Gun" & "100.000 Volts" combo… Once the water is affected by the electricity, it separates, becoming H2 and O. And with the "Flamethrower"… EVERYBODY DUCK!"…" The PET played a video.

"Ah… Yeah… PKMN Movie 2 "Mirage Pokémon: Lugia's Explosive Birth"… When Satoshi & co. try to rescue "Fire" from the Collector's HQ… There was an actual reason why the cage exploded…"

"Indeed, my cute _otaku_ _otouto – chan_!"

"Please! Stop it! It's embarrassing!" Netto was deep red by now.

"My, my. Netto. You've still got a long way to come!" Haruka giggled.

"Don't worry, Haruka. It's good to see they get along."

23:13 PM (japan Time)…

"… OK, then… Kept ya waitin', eh? Heh. I'm now gonna check out if ya indeed are as tough as they or not… It's fun to tame prideful guys like ya… Ya didn't see it coming, eh? Heh, heh."

Eisei (having changed into black leather trousers and having a metallic ring over his navel from which some black leather bands emerged backwards) stepped into a wooden room somewhere which was poorly lit given how there only were candles placed inside of plastic bowls to pick up the wax: the room had no windows either.

"Hmmm… Good body, yeah… It takes a guy to fully appreciate another guy's body…"

There was someone standing in the midst of the room: they were a guy who could be a bit taller than Eisei but they had a black cloth bag covering the head so his identity was unknown for now: he had a thick leather collar surrounding his neck and a chain emerged backwards from it.

His upper body was tied by rope in a "turtle shell" formation and his arms lifted over his head and had two black metallic armlets with 3 padlocks keeping them tight: a hook was attached to them and its chain passed through a pulley to then end up in the floor secured and tightened by a metallic nail.

The guy's nipples had metallic clothes pegs on them with a small weight on the lower end of each one pulling them downwards: a small string tied them together and formed a knot from which a shorter string with a small metallic ring attached as its end.

Four egg-shaped dildo were strapped with cello just above and below each cloth peg.

His balls were tightly gripped by four leather bands spreading for a circle on the base of his cock: a total of 16 clothes pegs were gripped to them and they all had a weight pulling them downwards.

The cock had a urethra vibrator inserted into it and properly secured with 4 bands connecting with the circle on the base of the cock.

His ass had a string of anal beads stuffed on it and the ring to pull them out was clearly visible.

Eisei approached him from behind and drew his own hardened cock.

"Here it comes!"

He violently pushed it inside and the prisoner moved forward due to the impulse but couldn't move much: his legs were spread by an iron bar attached to two metallic pieces set on his ankles: and each end of the bar was tied to a heavy steel ball: each one read "30 KG" on them so they were quite heavy: Eisei gripped the prisoner's waist and began to move his cock: he licked his own lips and then drew a remote: he activated the nipple vibrators and the prisoner shuddered: Eisei didn't give him a break and turned on the urethra vibrator: the prisoner began to convulse but he merely kept on raping his ass.

"Heh! It must be starting to feel good, eh? Then succumb to it and become my slave… Forever, that is… This is the Infinite _Naraku_ … You're already dead. No – one will miss you. No – one will come rescue you. You're just meat to be used. I don't care if you go mad or break down… You're just a sex slave… My sex slave… I choose you…" He whispered.

The prisoner began to struggle but didn't get anywhere and soon ran out of forces: Eisei chuckled aloud and kept on pumping in and out of the prisoner's ass.

"Yeah… I'll make your ass get used to cocks! Like mine… And I'm going to be intense… I don't care how long it takes for you to succumb to me… That's the fun, too… To see your victim desperately struggling over and over again while trying to defend their pride… I know what it means, man. I was like you, time ago. But now I've realized that being in control is far more exciting. Heh. Bad luck, man. Regret being born with such looks and body. Maybe you'd been born a girl then I'd ignored you. But I like horny guys like you. They drive me mad… I'm a leech… I'm going to slowly and carefully suck out your blood and life energy… Like a _Metroid_ , even. But slower… And subtler…" He chuckled.

He suddenly began to pull some of the clothes pegs on the prisoner's balls downwards to inflict pain to them: the prisoner shuddered but couldn't move from that position to begin with: Eisei then made his hands travel along the body's length and reached the nipples: he placed his right index finger in the central ring and began to pull: the prisoner couldn't stop shuddering and Eisei's grin turned wider.

"Yeah… This pain that invades the whole of your body… Pain… Agony… Suffering… But those are the beginning… Soon enough… They yield way to an excellent feeling… It makes you feel good… Very good, actually enough… And eventually… You want more of it… But I'll stop mid-way and deny you of it… Thus giving you a pain like none other… Denial play is useful to slowly shatter your pride… You'll try to play prideful and all but the body will want more of it… It'll drive you mad… So you'll swallow your pride and BEG to me to give you more of it… But I might not. So the body will continue ravaging… And then you will BEG to me… FOR REAL… And forget about the pride… Cling into that feeling… Cry, moan, beg… For me to give you more of it…" He whispered next.

The prisoner seemed to shudder more than before and Eisei took out his cock and stepped back while doing nothing more: the prisoner began to agitate his body and Eisei kept on doing nothing: he eventually lowered the head and Eisei snickered as he walked up to his head and gripped his jaw with the right hand.

"See? I knew it. You're still clinging to a small piece of your so-called "pride" but… It won't save you. It won't help you. It won't change anything. It'll only bring more pain to yourself. But if that's what you want then go ahead, by all means."

The prisoner negated with the head and Eisei chuckled as he suddenly stuffed his cock back into the widened ass: he pulled the chain of the collar and drew the prisoner towards him: he pulled the nipples' weights and the prisoner began to shudder and agitate again: Eisei drew a cock-shaped dildo from his left pocket and turned it on: he began to rub it against the prisoner's hardened cock and the vibrations seemed to make the prisoner go mad from the sensation.

"You want so bad to cum yet you can't. You're not allowed to. The slave is only a tool to bring pleasure to the master! You must be tamed and disciplined… So that you won't try to struggle when the master's "clients" begin having fun fucking you… And that makes them get in the mood to make business with the master… That's why we're coveted… We're the tools some need to convince others to do their bidding… Or to do something that benefits them… In exchange… They allow them access to you and they can continue to have fun… It's enough to convince them to sign a document to lend the master 5 billion Z…"

The prisoner seemed to feel an increasing fear and Eisei noticed it as he then used the dildo to tease the right nipple: he grabbed the balls' left side pegs and began to pull them.

"Yeah… And that was for a year and a half… And it was thrilling. So I then decided to become the master and use my own experiences as basis to know how to tame others… Once you know what the tamed guy feels like then you can properly exploit them… Yeah… Like now… But I'll tell ya something to make you feel "at ease"… There'll soon be some more. Some more that will undergo this as well… And when they want to have fun then… They'll use you. Or maybe you'll use them. Because I'm going to stuff all of you in the same cell… And it'll be fun to see if one of you betrays the others to escape from the "suffering" and becomes a new master… In here… You soon forget about "friendship" and "comradeship"… Basic primal instincts awaken… And you seek to save your own hide… You don't care about the others. You're more important than them…" Eisei laughed as he explained.

He was now teasing the underside of the prisoner's balls with the dildo and snickering at seeing how the prisoner began to struggle again and tried to deny what Eisei was saying by energetically shaking the head left to right and right to left: Eisei snickered again.

"It's too early to deny. Time will tell! We'll see if you're strong enough to overcome your primal survival instincts… Here: this is what it means to be filled up!"

Eisei released and filled the prisoner's ass with his release: he chuckled under his breath as he pulled out his cock and inserted the dildo he'd been using: he suddenly let go of the chain keeping the prisoner standing and he collapsed face-down into the floor: Eisei then gripped the forearms' chain and dragged the guy some centimeters forward: he hardened his cock and placed it inches away from the prisoner's nose.

"Remember this smell. It means that you're to suck it up. You're only useful to be fucked and to suck up cocks. Which is why I placed that ring keeping your mouth open and making you be unable to articulate a single word: it's for you to suck up cocks. And to impede you from pulling desperate tricks."

The prisoner seemingly grumbled under his breath but Eisei snickered.

"Here: let's begin your blowjob training!"

He lifted a bit of the bad to expose the mouth: a metallic ring set in the center of a tight black leather band could be seen keeping his mouth open and Eisei simply stuffed it inside while gripping the prisoner's head from behind with both hands: he began to move his head forward and back at a quick pace to force the prisoner to suck his cock: Eisei drew a new remote and suddenly turned the ass dildo to "MAX" speed: the prisoner began to agitate more and his cock began to swing left and right but Eisei merely forced him to continue to suck on his cock.

"Yeah… Like this…! You must learn the flavor of a cock! They'll soon began to stuff them into your mouth by turns: once you finish with one then next one will come! And you'll have to move fast to properly please them else they'll punish you… Maybe 100 whipping strikes will do… Or maybe worse punishments… I've experienced a great variety of them… And I'll use them on you too… If you try any desperate tricks or plots… All of which will inevitably fail. No – one will hear you even if you could speak. We're a long distance away from any inhabited place…"

Eisei suddenly released and filled the prisoner's mouth with his release: he then lowered the bag and used the right foot to turn the prisoner face-up: he placed his right foot over the balls next and the prisoner seemed to feel the pain: Eisei loomed closer and chuckled.

"Yeah… Hate me… Your hatred will make your stronger… Tap into the "Dark Side"… And become the center of the Universe… Then you'll be one of us, of the "Growth"… The combat branch of the larger and more powerful "Samar"… You'd do well for a neophyte…" He tried to tempt the prisoner.

The prisoner merely negated with the head and Eisei laughed aloud in a psychotic tone of voice.

"Useless struggle and pride! I laugh at them! What can you actually do in this state to begin with? Whatever. I'll put you to nap… Look forward to tomorrow evening… When a new guy joins you… Let's see what'll happen: will you fuck the guy or will the guy fuck you? Heh, heh!"

He suddenly pulled out the urethra vibrator and the prisoner released before fainting: he laughed aloud and his voice echoed inside of the wooden room…


	3. Chapter 3: On the move

**Chapter 3: On the move**

07:17 AM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 4th…

"… Well then, Colonel Talos?"

"We have a witness report in Shikoku. Chief Lezareno."

"Shikoku. Is it reliable?"

"After we issued the warning… Mr. Zarashe said that our youngster appeared right next to him in the beach and installed there. He did nothing outstanding and they parted ways when he and Mr. Akashi headed back to the hotel."

"I see. But it's obvious that he's just scouting."

"Yes. We predict him showing up in locations where other companions of Mr. Hikari might be at. Virus might try to abduct some of them like last time around."

"We can't discard that possibility."

Two men were talking inside of a small office room that had no windows and little to no furniture: there only were a small square wooden table and four simplistic wooden chairs surrounding it: the only light was fluorescent lights set in the ceiling.

One of the men, named Colonel Talos, looked as being on his late forties: his hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face and he seemed to be missing his left eye as well.

He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.

The other man, Chief Lezareno, was on his forties and appealed to be over a meter and eighty tall.

His hair was blonde and neatly combed his face was clean shaven and he seemed to be calm enough.

He was dressed in a gray trench overcoat, a black sports suit and pants along with brown shoes.

He had sunglasses on, though.

Both were sitting opposite each other and discussing.

"By the way, regarding "that topic"…" Colonel Talos brought up.

"Revealing it would only lead to panic. And that's what Virus wants: panic. I thought it was obvious enough, Colonel. Do excuse me."

"Of course. I just want to re-check. So we'll try to contain the information as much as we can. Problem will be if Virus announces it."

"We can always say it's a bluff and issue an official statement: we should say our person is ill or so." Chief Lezareo suggested.

"Hum. But not showing up in person could lead to speculation."

"Yet they will lack proof. We could simply insert suggestions that the criminal is hoping to control society through misinformation and fake news."

"Hum. That angle could work. People would certainly not like the idea of being turned into puppets of some infamous criminal. Maybe we could put some pressure suggesting that the police will punish anyone who contributed to spreading the misinformation. It's not very fair but since Virus is going to play a game of psychological warfare then we'll have to counter with our own psychological warfare."

"Keep an eye on Colonel Thunderbolt too. He could be used by Virus to start a scandal and stain our names."

"Alright. I'll arrange for it ASAP."

"Good. Please remember that "that topic" must be kept under wraps for now. Until we find the means to properly counter it."

"Of course. I'll be right back."

"I'll contact Mr. Sponsor in the meanwhile."

Colonel Talos stood up and quickly left while Chief Lezareno drew a Blackberry and interacted with it.

"Mr. Sponsor? It's me. Subject was at Shikoku yesterday." He reported to someone.

"Hum. I see." A man's voice replied.

"Did you receive my report?"

"Yes, I did. Insofar no – one seems to have leaked anything. They must be afraid of the consequences."

"Good. We're going to start a campaign of rumors to try to ensure people won't cooperate into spreading misinformation that could benefit Virus. And we can't lower the guard. He might try to pull the same stunt twice because we don't expect it."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he did. I've already arranged for hourly checks to make sure everything is alright in all fronts. We should've seen what's happened coming yet it caught us with the guard down. They targeted someone we didn't expect Virus to."

"Maybe someone else could be targeted?"

"I've got some other people in mind and I've contacted them. One thing is clear: he'll target men. Not women."

"Yes, obviously enough."

"Nevertheless… He could try using a woman as bait to lure someone out so I'm keeping an eye out there… Tabuu's making sure to double-check that the hourly checks are genuine…"

"Did that hideout that Virus used really blow up or was it a stunt?"

"Hmmm… Good point. I hadn't thought of it… Maybe if they placed an unstable reactor with the same mass and power and detonated it just after the original building got warped out of the place then they could create that effect… I'm going to inspect yet they could be keeping it on the ground because we'd expect it to be in orbit…"

"I see."

"Once I finish doing some security scans to Omega then I'll send him to try to trace the reactor's signature… But then again he could've shut it down and isn't using the place and is using some other location that can't be located just like that."

"A remote, small island could do."

"I did check Kuroshima but wasn't there. Didn't expect the guy to but I thought that he might try to fool us with the typical behavior that we don't check same place twice."

"I see. We could try having a quick look-up of archives. Physical archives, that is. That is more discrete and can't be traced over the Internet."

"Of course. Excellent idea. We could have some agents investigate there and there under different pretexts… Or we could simply borrow or buy maritime charts and maps in stores and libraries…"

"That's a wise idea too."

"Speaking of the sea… It could be a ship. I once read that some Mafia man overseas had a tanker adapted to serve as a hideout. The outer body looked like a tanker but it actually didn't have fuel inside. So the man could operate unnoticed from there. We could look up ship registers to find a ship that had any odd modifications made to it recently or some time ago…" Mr. Sponsor reflected aloud.

"Hum. We can't discard anything at this stage. If only we had some kind of criteria or info we could use to narrow it down…"

"Sadly, I don't."

"Thought as much. Oh well. We'll do what we can."

"Of course, Chief. We're not all-powerful."

"Yes, indeed."

"By the way… Has there been any progress regarding "them"?" Mr. Sponsor suddenly asked.

"They've finally collapsed. The last surviving 6 top brass killed each other for control of the org. And the members, who were there in an unwilling manner, dispersed. They finally collapsed."

"Excellent. So we needn't worry about them interfering."

"At all. That woman's still in jail and I made sure of it."

"Ah, yes. I know whom you mean."

"Really. How the mighty have fallen. Had a promising career ahead of them and abandoned it because they got seduced by an agent of those fools… And got obsessed." Chief Lezareno sighed.

"Indeed. How the mighty have fallen indeed."

"Chief? I'm back."

"Ah. Colonel. Good. Any news?"

"Nothing yet. No witness accounts either."

"Hum. So he must be waiting to decide where and when he shows up, I guess."

"Surely."

Colonel Talos came back in, shrugging, and Chief Lezareno calmly looked up to greet him.

"Ah. Colonel. Good morning."

"Good morning, Mr. Vadous."

"How did the arrangements go like?" Chief Lezareno asked.

"The Colonel already carries a GPS tracker. And there's always an agent that scouts the place he goes to. Insofar he's been behaving in a totally legal manner yet… Virus might try tempting him. Will surely try to exploit the Colonel's weakness."

"Thunderbolt, huh… We really need to keep an eye on the guy. We got caught with the guard down back then because we didn't expect the man to be capable of such barbaric actions… Yet… He always struck as me as a predator waiting for his prey…" Vadous icily muttered.

"Indeed, indeed." Colonel Talos calmly confirmed.

"He needed to be reminded we're a serious organization and he was no longer in charge of his GRU unit." Chief Lezareno sighed.

"I'm sorry. I switched topics without intending to. In another little while Omega will begin searching. Serenade is monitoring the Reverse Internet in case Virus uses his proxies there to cause some ruckus."

"Good. But maybe he's readied some new proxies."

"Wouldn't surprise me… Problem will be figuring them out. They could be paid spies for all we know. Oh well. We'll handle it somehow. If you'll excuse me I'm going to finish tuning up Omega. Good luck, gentlemen."

"Indeed, Mr. Vadous. We must do our best."

"Hum. Virus Daemon… If he could figure out more about the man… Just who are they? Where do they come from? It's an enigma…!"

10:39 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hey! Noa – kun! Did ya know?"

"What now, Raf?"

"That there's gonna be a TV show 'bout jumping, flipping and crashing CATS!"

"HUH? Oh come on. That gotta be some Facebook troll."

"Ya never know!"

"I do. Now be realistic if you may."

"Heh! Tomono – sama's reality control field!"

"Huh? Oh come on. It's called "reality distortion field". And I don't have that to begin with, Rafael!"

"Heh, heh!"

A teen guy had been sitting in a plastic white armchair next to a hotel's pool and watching a video through his Link PET when his Navi began to tell him jokes.

The guy, Tomono, had greenish hair and blue eye irises.

He wore a greenish swimming trunk and sandals: he'd left a white shirt atop the right armrest.

His PET was a green and black model: its emblem was two triangles missing the base and being intercrossed plus three round dots on the middle of the formation and to the sides of it: the whole set was colored bronze and set against a navy blue background.

"'Cuse me… This seat is empty?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Go ahead."

"Thanks, _Danna_."

Eisei showed up and asked if the chair to Tomono's right was free: he was told it was so he sat down there: he wore the same swimsuit and shirt like the day before: Tomono smiled at him and then resumed talking with Rafael, his Navi.

"Maybe you'd prefer if it was 'bout parrots?"

Rafael's man body color was black and he struck as being around the same height as Delta yet he was shorter than Glyde by about 8~9 centimeters and Guts Man obviously overcame him in height.

His face had a hard-to-spot scar in the shape of the Alphabet letter "X" drawn above the nose: his eyes' irises were green and he looked youthful: spiked brown hair came out from behind the helmet.

His head was encompassed within a helmet having a copy of his emblem set on the forehead with a metallic rim: the forehead piece was colored red while the rear part was black: a red stripe extended from the forehead and through the middle of the helmet while heading towards the rear: the sides of his helmet had white armor constructed over them: a small cavity housed the ear-pads from where a red stripe originated and was drawn across it until the end: the helmet design also included two small yellow pieces extending until the edge of the lower jaw.

His chest armor had the emblem set on its middle: three parallel red lines were drawn over its upper edge and extended past the neck's base and apparently until his back: the segment below the emblem was colored yellow and it included a red stripe on the center which extended until the edge of the chest armor.

His shoulders had the shape of a red triangle drawn on their upper face while their main color was black: a thin round yellow stripe was present just where the arms began.

His arms' skin was also gray in this spot yet it soon got covered by black armor having a metallic piece of the elbow colored in a thicker shade of gray: the armor extended until the wrists where a trapeze-shaped piece of armor originated: his hands were covered in white "gloves" as well like most Net Navis.

Two thin red stripes ran down the unarmored gray-skinned body until the waist where another piece of armor was present: it had the general shape of briefs underwear and the color of choice was black as well.

Yet another red stripe ran down the center of it and curved to continue towards the rear.

One gun-belt colored silver was attached on the waist and had holsters for two guns.

They looked like modified handguns colored purple and having a white muzzle.

His boots began over the knees and extended until the feet: the color of choice was black again and there also was a red stripe running down the length of them across the center: the outer sides of each one had a white-colored triangle-shaped cavity which included a lower gray edge and a red stripe running down the rightmost edge: his heels' armor was metallic gray in color as well.

Lastly, two white triangle-like extensions protruded from the rear of his body and extended diagonally towards the ground in a SE direction.

Overall, he looked heavily customized and cool.

"By the way!"

"What next?" He sighed.

"SEYA~H! THE LIGHT SAMURAI DEFENDER OF BEAUTIES! ITS NAME IS… YUUYAMI KOUTAROU! DE MUSA~!" A piece of audio played back all of a sudden.

"Higure – san…! Nobody showered him yet…?"

"Nope! They're waiting for someone to patent "Shower Man"!" Rafael giggled.

"Lovely."

"I heard from Forte, though, that…"

"What?"

"Someone named Seie is roaming loose and plotting something: some sort of scam or something like that… His email was pretty vague."

"Are you sure the info is right? It's not a prank?"

"Maybe it's a rumor…"

"Why don't you check with him?"

"Well… Why not? I'll try to find the guy."

"Surely he'll be roaming the Reverse Internet…"

"To meet Ninja Man…" Rafael joked.

"You mean Shadow Man…"

"And he'll open a store that sells "shadow fashion"."

"Shadow fashion? Why don't you patent it for some RPG?"

"Heh, heh! Guess I'll do that."

"Now: are you gonna go or…?"

"Oho. Not so fast, Noa – kun! I've got something to tell you!"

"What now?" Tomono groaned.

"I got an email from an admirer!"

"Admirer? Of you?"

"Yessir! It says "Raf – dono is worthy of being a modern age Japanese cowboy!"…"

"Sounds like a joke. Why would they use "dono" yet not write your full name? And it's written in a standard register too. It's a joke and you take it too literally." Tomono argued.

"Aw man. Here I hoped to get the eye of some beauty." He played the disappointed.

"Hah, hah. I'm so impressed."

"Huh? Aha-hah! Found ya… It's… Lucky Luke! The cowboy faster than his shadow! "There's someone… at the corridor's end! A mirror! Of course! Only I could be faster than my shadow!"… "Lower your weapon, cowboy! It'll be useless against the Dark Prince!"… "Indeed!"… "Huh?"… THUD! "Let's have a closer look to this "Dark Prince"!" He began to quote in a rush, excited.

"What, he punched him?"

"If weapons won't work…" Rafael laughed.

"Sounds like a loophole."

"A loop-ring?"

"Patent that as well. If you don't hurry someone else will do and you'll lose your once in a lifetime chance, Raf." Tomono improvised to try to shoo him away.

"Alright, if ya insist that much… Be back in a while! See ya!"

Rafael left and Tomono finally sighed in relief as he resumed watching at the video.

"Yo. _Danna_. Did ya know? The Samurai of Light uses a broken tree branch instead of a _katana_ : says that it's eco-friendly!" Eisei whispered to Tomono all of a sudden.

"You know Higure – san?"

"I visited the store to check it out: a buddy recommended it to me. And that's when he got the idea! It'd seem the guy loves _The Last Samurai_ movie and got mad with it!" He explained.

"So that's why. Huff. Last thing we needed."

"By the way… Did ya hear?"

"What?"

"They say a very dangerous guy is back… Someone very scary and powerful… It's rumored he looks up to some mad scientist who brainwashed others…" He whispered.

"Hmmm… But it's a rumor. Maybe it's a tale someone made to try to spread panic amongst people." Tomono argued back.

"Now that ya mention it… That could be it. Sorry."

"Don't mind it. It's not like you could immediately guess that."

"Well… Guess that. I should be more careful. Man."

"You needn't be so defeatist, either." Tomono tried to encourage.

"Sorry. I tend to be like that: I'm rather crappy. Oh well. Going for a dive: could you please keep an eye on my things from time to time? Just in case someone wants to pull a prank."

"Of course. It's no bother."

"Thanks. Owe ya one. See ya!"

Eisei chuckled under his breath as he jumped into the pool and began to swim: Tomono continued watching the video and hummed a tune.

 _Raf's jokes asides… I'm really enjoying this holiday! Ah! What peace!_

23:34 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Let's begin. I've heard that you're incredibly masochist so you'll soon get used to this. If ya aren't already. Heh, heh, heh. Tonight is gonna be fun as well."

Like the previous night, Eisei was standing in that wooden room with that outfit: today another prisoner (could be told it was someone else because he was a bit shorter in height) had been brought in.

This prisoner had the same setup as the other but with the difference that a hook had been attached to one of the vertices of the rope "diamond": his legs had been bent and tied together with rope.

He was hovering a short distance above a metallic triangular horse that had an intimidating crimson dildo filled with dots across its length: Eisei was holding the chain keeping him in the air with his ass directly over the dildo.

"Alright… In it goes!"

He suddenly let go of the chain and the prisoner quickly fell into the dildo and it violently penetrated deep into his ass: the prisoner shivered and his body got rigid while Eisei grinned and turned on the dildo: it began to spin clockwise and to ravage the prisoner's ass: the prisoner was unable to lift up the body because the legs were tied together and he couldn't articulate them so he couldn't do anything else that wasn't rocking left or right while agonizing.

"Heh! Guess you hadn't experienced a powerful dildo like this one: it's built to quickly turn you addict to it! Heh, heh, heh. My _collection_ is steadily growing… We're gonna have a lot of fun… You will know what a true masochist is: you were but an _amateur_ one until today! But now you'll become a pro one… You should be feeling thankful to me for teaching ya all of this… free of charge!"

The prisoner negated with the head and Eisei chuckled as he picked a ping-pong racket and began to smack his buttocks: the prisoner shivered and Eisei calmly kept on spanking them as they began to turn red and they possibly began to ache: Eisei then used a couple of steps built into the sides to climb into the horse and drew his cock.

"Get ready to experience a thrilling cock up your wide ass!"

He thrust it inside and began to move in and out while pulling the prisoner's nipple pegs and licking the shoulders from behind as if to tease him: he then closed his right hand around the prisoner's cock and began to rub it to tease him further.

"Heh, heh, heh. Oh the agony. It feels like it's gonna explode from being unable to let it out, doesn't it? Heh, heh, heh. Once I'm finished with you then I'll toss you into the cell with your cell-mate: we'll see if you get to fuck the guy or the guy fucks you instead… I don't care for either of the results, anyway. It'll only make things funnier. And you can try saying that you won't do that but that guy must be eager to unleash his anger into anyone or anything. I'll turn you into someone like that guy too! Thanks to my training skills…"

He suddenly gripped the cock with strength and the prisoner agonized again: Eisei began to pull each and every one of the prisoner's balls clothes pegs to inflict further pain.

"Despite being a masochist you're too sensible to pain… Heh! Ya don't know what real pain is about, not yet. Like I suspected… You're but an _amateur_. You haven't done any real stuff. This is the real stuff! And your body is admitting to that! Body language is the most honest of them all: because it's a primal instinct which you can't control! It tells everything about you: everything!"

The prisoner seemed to feel a chill going down his back while Eisei laughed aloud: he released inside of the prisoner's ass and climbed down before inserting the first of a string of anal beads: the prisoner's convulsions made him automatically suck them into his ass unwillingly and he kept on struggling.

"Heh, heh, heh. This is the grace of anal beads. That you end up sucking them yourself unwillingly… And bring forth a sensation like nothing you've experienced before! I'm going to sit down and watch you struggle for a while. Then I'm gonna show you how a blowjob is properly done! Maybe the guy in the cell will have you do one! And you can't plot with each other because you'll be unable to undo the bindings! You won't be able to see or speak to each other either! So give up any desperate ideas you might be thinking of: they're useless! Pointless!"

The prisoner seemed to be terrorized by now given his constant shudders.

"Yeah! Fear's crawling into you… Fear like none before! Let it creep inside of you: let it possess you! Become a slave to it! Like you'll become my sex slave as well!"

Eisei then activated a remote and part of the ground lowered until the prisoner's head was at the same height as Eisei's cock: he lifted the bag until the nose and stuffed the cock inside of the forcibly opened mouth: he began to pull the prisoner's head forward and back to set the pace and he chuckled.

"Remember: I only need your meat! Not your mind! So I don't care if it becomes glass shards! Customers don't care! They pay to fuck and that's it! Fuck ass and mouth: and that's it! To see you struggling and agonizing! To have fun! This is the rule of the world!"

He released inside of the prisoner's mouth: he then pulled out the urethra vibrator and allowed him to cum: the prisoner fainted and Eisei stopped the dildo before he pulled him up and moved the pulley to the right: he lowered the prisoner atop a wheeled platform and removed the hook: he pulled it towards the right of the room until he reached a steel door with a handle and a lock: it had a small slit underneath wide enough for a hand to pass through: he unlocked the door with a key and pulled it open to reveal a cell having hay over the floor and a small hole on the ground in the NE corner which seemed to serve as toilet: the other prisoner was lying on the left side of his body and was quiet: he didn't have anything on his ass or cock yet he still had the pegs on his nipples and balls: Eisei placed the platform parallel to the entrance and lifted it: the second prisoner rolled down from it and hit the feet of the first prisoner, apparently waking him up: Eisei swiftly pulled the platform out and shut the door: he calmly locked it again and hummed a tune as he headed back into the main room and left the platform parked next to the horse.

"Alright. Let's go the control cabin."

He pressed his hand against a hand scanner and a nearby door unlocked: he quickly opened it and shut it behind him as the sound of an automated lock rang out: he'd stepped into a small surveillance center having a large LCD screen, a laptop next to it, a couple of wireless cameras which apparently were spares, a half-eaten sandwich and a cup of Coca Cola: he sat on a wheeled chair and inputted some commands into the laptop.

"Live feed." He muttered.

The live feed showed the cell's interior: the first prisoner was actually raping the second by placing his body over the second one's body and pumping his cock into his ass: the second one couldn't use the feet to make force so he couldn't shake the first prisoner off.

"Heh! I knew it. Number 1 is the prideful type… And wants to unleash this anger into whoever it is. Let's watch on: it's gonna be fun to witness how Number 1 dominates Number 2!" He muttered.

Number 1 kept on for a while until he released: he then crawled on his knees across the hay and stopped when he was near the front of Number 2: he used his cock to lift his bag and began to try to find the mouth: he did so and forced Number 2 to start sucking his cock next.

"Heh, heh, heh. And Number 2 will try to have payback but will be unable to do so. Guess I'm gonna do the same with Number 3 tomorrow evening… So that Number 1 becomes the veteran that will teach the newbies that veterans rule here."

Number 1 released inside of Number 2's mouth and seemed to be satisfied as he crawled back to the NW corner while Number 2 remained in the middle of the ground, apparently out of energies: Number 1 seemed to fall asleep while Number 2 began to shudder and tremble again: Eisei chuckled under his breath.

"Excellent. That whelp will soon break down. If we wait a bit then Number 1 will eventually fall for the temptation of becoming a sadist and taming them so as to escape from that fate himself. His egoism will prevail above all. His instincts will tell him to save himself. That the others aren't worth it: they're weak. Weak die. Strong evolve. Survival of the strongest. Heh, heh, heh. Enough."

He cut off the live feed and then inputted some commands to open another: he spotted Forte talking with Tabuu somewhere in the Cyber World.

"… Damn it all." Forte was cursing.

"We lowered the guard again. Despite the hourly checks. Because it happened between one check and the other. And we got issued fake checks which we didn't double check." Tabuu was fuming.

"Too bad, guys… _Danna_ – _sama_ is too smart for ya guys in case ya hadn't realized… Tabuu…! I'm so gonna have ya pay back for the chagrin of a few days ago…!" Eisei snickered.

"What do we tell the others, though?" Forte sighed.

"It'll be hard to conceal it this time around, true. Someone else is involved and I'm not sure if they'll keep it secret or they'll despair over it. And that party will find it odd as well."

"So… We need to find a way to camouflage that?"

"Yeah, but… If the others figure it out… It'll probably hurt their thrust. Which would be BAD. VERY BAD." Tabuu argued back.

"True… Those they've believed insofar have tried to lie to them, to deceive them… Damn it all! It's so damned messed up! I hate it when things turn so messed up…" Forte growled.

"Oi. You lowlifes. Do ya know someone named Forte?" Someone with an old man's speaking manner asked.

"I'm that Forte: who the hell are you? State your business!"

" _Mishirushi choudai_!" (I'll cut off your neck!)

"Objection. Cosmo Beam!"

Tabuu shot a golden beam of energy to the off-screen attacker and there was a scream of agony: Forte was surprised since he'd been about to counter with his Dark Arm Blades.

"A pawn of Virus, surely. To try to cloud your judgment."

"Whoa. That beam IS strong." He whistled in surprise.

"Bah. The opponent was too frail. You could've beaten then in one blow as well, Forte. Anyway! We need to think of something to say by the morning: maybe we can ask them not to spread the news instead."

"That could be easier to do. Let's do that."

"Enough." Eisei snickered.

He cut off the live feed and rubbed his hands from the excitement.

 _Heh, heh, heh. Tomorrow… More fun… Heh, heh, heh… I'm a genius!_


	4. Chapter 4: Eclipse

**Chapter 4: Eclipse**

08:48 AM (Scotland Time), Friday August the 5th…

"… Good morning, Shun – kun."

"Hmmm… Huh? Ah. Akira… Fua~h… Morning."

"You look like you went to sleep late, Shun – kun."

"Yeah. Too much NicoNico."

"Thought as much. Oh well. Mom went off but I've readied the breakfast so why don't you come have it? Then you can shower and all at a steadier pace."

"Sure thing. And don't pull surprises on me."

"Of course not. Now's not the time or place."

Obihiro Shun (aged 13) woke up and sat up on a bed in a guest room somewhere while wearing navy blue pajamas: he stretched and talked with someone else.

That someone, Akira, was about Obihiro's age: he had purplish hair which formed some flocks over his forehead and green eye irises.

He wore a sleeveless black shirt, brown shorts and sandals.

"OK…"

Obihiro stood up on the ground and followed Akira into a corridor: he went down some stairs and into a hall to the turn at the right into a living room: a breakfast had been set on the table.

"Rice omelet, huh? Thanks." He got animated upon seeing it.

"There's orange juice too. There's the sugar so put in as much as you want if you want to make it sweeter."

"Thanks. By the way… Is it me or you look a bit lost in thought?"

"Heh. You noticed, Shun – kun? Well, yeah… A couple days ago I got contacted by a hacker I'd heard rumors about… "Eclipse"…"

"Who are they?" Obihiro asked as he sat on the chair.

"I'm not sure either. But they're very good. Yet it's not Sigaano."

"The skill doesn't match? Don't you think he could be holding back in purpose?"

"No… Because I've tried to investigate and people say that this "Eclipse" began to show up about 2 years ago… Timeline doesn't match to begin with…"

"Ah. So that's why. So? What do they want?"

"For the time being… Nothing. They said they would contact me again soon but…" Akira admitted.

"Hum. Talk about odd."

A PET began to ring close by and Obihiro picked his (colored purple and white and with no emblem) which he'd placed to his right atop the table: he turned on the screen.

"Good morning, Obihiro."

"Mr. Vadous!"

"I'll go straight to the point. I need you and Akira's help."

"My help, Mr. Vadous?"

Vadous was a man on his mid-20s with jet black hair and red eye irises.

He could be seen wearing a simple black suit with a green tie.

"Ah. So you were there. Good. Virus Daemon's back."

"Devil." Obihiro cursed.

"Hum. Had the hunch such a villain wouldn't go down so easily."

"He's got an accomplice. Here's a photo: name's Eisei Aaron. The guy's showing up there and there so I wouldn't be surprised if he appears close to you guys. Be careful: the guy's a trickster."

"Understood."

"Omega will now come provide you with a software to send me hourly reports: we need to be constantly on the watch. Insofar Virus himself hasn't shown up around but he's bound to. In some manner or another… So try to catch clues about the rascal. I'm doing that too but you can dig into forums or communities." Vadous instructed.

"Hi there. Here's the program."

"Ah. Omega. Hi there."

Omega, a Navi, showed up through the PET's hologram projector.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed seriousness while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached until the floor.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Obihiro asked.

"Not really. I've been listening to the underground: but nothing out of place seems to have happened. Rumors of Virus' resurfacing are spreading there and they're all shuddering in fear but that's all. Even some Yakuza are getting nervous thinking that the "Secret Empire" is going to rise again and come dispatch them."

"To sum it up: nothing useful."

"Yeah. Sadly enough…"

"By the way… What about Sigaano?"

"Tabuu? Don't worry. The guy's on our side now. He's not fond of Virus either so he's trying to find clues as well."

"Ah! That's good to hear."

"I hope his presence makes Virus hesitate: not even he can stand up to Tabuu's strength to begin with. The other day we demonstrated that busting a weak pawn the guy had sent for us."

"Good." Akira looked satisfied.

"We'll be in contact. I'm off." Omega merely told them.

"If anything unusual happens then contact me or the Committee immediately, before it's too late."

"We'll do so."

The call ended and both sighed: Obihiro resumed eating the breakfast while Akira opened a Toshiba PC and began to do something: he suddenly gasped.

"That "Eclipse" has contacted me again…! "If you need help about Virus Daemon I can do it. I know the man was in Matsuyama 3 days ago closing a deal with a drug trader."…" Akira read.

"Hmmm… But we can't know if it's misinformation or not." Obihiro didn't trust the info.

"Of course. But it's worth a try. I'll forward this to Mr. Vadous right away and they could easily look it up. Ah! There's a post script… "PS: forgot to say the dealer's name is Amanoda Yuutarou. 39. Natural from Matsuyama. Has been arrested and liberated several times already. The police know him. His current trade is marijuana. He sells it to the customers of the Hotel Fine Garden, located in front of the Marriveil the Spire, a wedding hall."… That sounds more credible."

"If the police know the man they can just detain him and interrogate him yet I doubt the man knowing much. Just that the customer wanted to buy some marijuana and that's it." Obihiro calmly replied.

"Yeah. But I've sent the info nevertheless."

"Huh? Incoming call… Hello?"

"Hiya~… Are ya Obihiro~?"

"Who is it?"

"Someone."

"Wait! You must be Eisei Aaron!"

"Oho. Zataki told ya guys 'bout the great I already? I knew it: the guy isn't sitting idle. Heh! Whatever."

"What are you and Virus up to?"

"Dunno."

"Very funny."

"Ain't it, _Danna_? Did ya get a fan club already~?" He laughed.

"Speak for yourself." Obihiro grumbled.

"Heh! Who knows? By the way… I know something… That ya… Have had an affair with "Zeta – sama"…!"

"Huff. Should've seen it coming from Virus…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. So?"

"Sod off."

"Soda, eh? Fine. I'll patent the Soda Shower!"

"How original!"

"Ain't it, _Danna_? So? Do you want a rod up your hole? I can show ya the real deal and some _amateur_ imitation!"

"That was an _amateur_ imitation?" Obihiro groaned.

"Of course. Like I would do something too painful to my precious and beloved Shun – kun…" Akira fumed.

"Oho. So you were there! "Zeta" – sama!"

"So what."

"Good question. Maybe Lucky Luke will solve it for us."

"Who?" Both asked.

"A lone cowboy far, far away from home! Faster than his shadow!"

"So what." They countered.

"Heh, heh, heh. Oh well. Other businesses recall my attention. I'll treat ya to the newest Akihara City fashion!"

"KYA~H! I REPELLED AN EVIL-DOER! DE MUSA! YUUYAMI KOUTAROU, THE SAMURAI OF LIGHT, IS VICTORIOUS! DE MUSA!"

"STOP ACTING LIKE A MORON! YAMITAROU~!"

"Heck. Nobody's stopped Higure – san yet? Everyone must've fled the town by now." Obihiro groaned.

"Really. What a clown." Akira grumbled.

"KOUTAROU~! DE MUSA~!"

"YOUR NAME'S YAMITAROU~! YOU _BAKA_ ~!"

20:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well. Spending the evening in the lobby solving crosswords isn't bad because you can see people coming and leaving."

"Tooru – kun: I'm back! Desu!"

"So… What about Higure – san?"

"It'd seem they finally made him behave. Desu."

"About time!"

"So it'd seem. Desu."

"I'm so glad not to be there right now."

"Desu?"

"Don't mind it, Ice Man."

"OK. Desu."

Hikawa Tooru had been sitting on one of the chairs in a hotel's lobby and solving crosswords: Ice Man showed up on his PET and they began to chat: he didn't spot that Eisei was sitting right behind him.

"By the way… They say someone named "Seisi" is up to something, desu! Be careful, they say! Desu."

"Seisi? Who's that?"

"I don't know. Desu. I heard Blues – sama say that. Desu."

"If Blues said that then it must be serious stuff indeed…"

"Yo~… Someone's come!" A familiar voice rang out.

"Forte?" He groaned.

"Yessir. The town felt too maddening so I followed Ice Man. Did you know that Mr. X proposed to Ms. Y?"

"And what if? It's got no relevance to me!"

"You never know."

"What does that mean?"

"Figure it out yourself, Hastings."

"I don't need to." Hikawa sighed.

"By the way!"

"What next?"

"The Collector's going to collect your passion!"

"What "Collector"?"

"The one in the PKMN Movie 2."

"Ah yeah… That mister… I bought the DVD some time ago and watched it at home… That mister impressed me: how the heck did he manage to make that giant thing fly?"

"Dunno. Maybe a wizard did it?" Forte laughed.

"Wouldn't surprise me, seeing how things work in the PKMN world to begin with."

"Heh, heh, heh. He made a cameo appearance when the credits of the Movie 5… The fun part is that the book contains some of his words of Movie 2 written in Alphabet…"

"Is that so? I hadn't noticed." Hikawa was surprised.

"Beware! It's the incoming attack by Zekrom – sama!"

"Zekrom next?"

"And Reshiram"

"And Kyurem?"

"Yessir. And Victini."

"And the rest of Gen 5 Legendary PKMN, huh?" Hikawa guessed.

"Indeed! By the way! Gimli here is eager to ice some Orcs!"

"Gimli? Ice Man? Oh come on."

"Desu?" Ice Man didn't get any of that.

"Did ya know? Gorilla Man got promoted to Stupid Gorilla Hybrid!"

"Too long."

"Life is too short to waste it on boring stuff!"

"Education is vital!"

"I didn't mean that! I meant… Something. Or nothing."

"That's a horrible pun!"

"Charmed."

"Why don't you go hunt for that criminal on the loose?"

"I'd like to but I don't know where to start from…"

"Huff."

"Don't worry! I'll corner the guy between the sword and the wall and the guy will end up failing!"

"Let's hope so."

"A fellow who goes to visit a fortune-teller… "Fortunately I always store the savings in a shoe-box!"… "A cardboard box?"… "How did you know?"…"

"Oh come on. The visitor isn't aware of himself? He just said it aloud: it's obvious that shoe-boxes are made of cardboard!"

"Heh, heh! And another visitor gets told this… "You lead people, a nation… I see a garden full of roses… A white house…"… "Do you mean THE White House?"… "Yes!"…"

"The fortune-teller's trying to tell the visitor he or she will become the next President of Ameroupe?"

"Indeed! To a sheriff living in some backwater village."

"Oh come on. Like that'd ever happen."

"You never know!" Forte laughed.

"Is that all? Can you go back already?" Hikawa sighed.

"Hmmm… Guess so. By the way! They say that Mr. Smiles will date Ms. Smiles. And thus Hybrid Smile will be created!"

"Earth, swallow me whole…!" Hikawa groaned.

"And thus I'm off shadowy style! Heh, heh! See ya!"

"He's left. Desu."

"About time, too…!"

"Heh! Seems like ya have a hard life, _Danna_." Eisei called out from behind him while chuckling.

"Huh? Ah… Yeah. Sorry for the mess."

"Don't worry, man. It was fun."

"Not you too."

"Relax, man! The world ain't gonna end just because of that."

"I know it won't but nevertheless…" Hikawa sighed.

"Did ya hear, though? They say that someone named "Worm" is back for more action… And more stuff…"

"Worm? Never heard of it before. It's a _manga_ or _anime_ character?" He frowned.

"No. They say it's a real guy and that was supposed to be dead but wasn't: say he's got a mysterious ability…"

"I don't believe in magic. It's gotta be some stage stunt. Like magicians!"

"Guess that."

"By the way… Are ya a cousin of Wataru – sama?"

"Oh come on… Not that joke again… I know that both "wataru" and "tooru" can mean "crossing" but my _kanji_ is different!"

"Sorry. It's a joke I heard from a net buddy the other day." Eisei calmly shrugged.

"Ah. If it's just that… I get the feeling there are too many random and maddening pranksters around me as of late."

"Could be, _Danna_. Maybe ya have some bad luck."

"I guess that. Oh well."

"It's a bit of pity, though… That we got B2 & W2 instead of _Gray_ … Could've been fun nevertheless…"

"Yeah. I know. Oh well. Maybe they'll do that by the time the next gen comes out."

"Maybe so. Oh well. Gotta go. Nice meetin' ya, _Danna_. Beware of glutton fatty fellows."

"Whom do you mean?"

"Ya buddy Ookarada."

"Ooyama – kun? Yeah, I know."

"Heh, heh! Tell the guy _laugh and grow fat_! See ya~!"

Eisei left the lobby and Hikawa shrugged: he headed for the elevators and climbed some floors until he exited into a corridor: he walked down it until he reached a room and inserted the card key to unlock it: he stepped into the two-bed room and closed the door.

"Dad seems to be away… Maybe he's gone to the _onsen_ … I could join him there too." He decided.

He left the PET on the charger and picked a _yukata_ and a towel from the cupboard plus a couple of slippers: he entered the bathroom and changed there before heading out and back to the lobby: he entered the men's _onsen_ and left his _yukata_ and the other things save the small towel on a locker the key of which he brought along: he entered the main _onsen_ room which only had a few customers: his father was one of them and Eisei was as well

 _The person from before… So he's staying in this hotel too. Oh well. Let's go to dad's place._

He calmly entered the _onsen_ making sure to not lose his footing on the steps and walked over to his father's side.

"Hi, dad."

"Huh? Ah. Tooru. Did you finish the crosswords?"

"All of them. They weren't easy but they were fun."

"That's good. Been a while since I was in a good _onsen_ … Take the chance to properly enjoy it as well, Tooru."

"Yeah, dad."

None of them spotted Eisei's brief snicker.

 _Heh, heh, heh. Tonight… More thrill! Let's get on the move already…!_

23:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well, well. All's ready. Heh, heh. This device is very useful to tame guys like ya. It'd seem ya like to fuck others but aren't a sadist either. So now you'll learn what it means to be fucked over and over again. And this gizmo is going to contribute to that. Heh, heh. We'll start at max speed: no time to waste with heating up… Customers will stuff it and immediately begin moving… They want to have fun right there…"

Eisei was talking to a new prisoner in that room somewhere while sporting his usual night set: this prisoner had been forced to sit on his knees and his upper body was tied a metallic column: a piston with two thick dildos built on it was placed directly beneath his ass and looked like it was about to penetrate his exposed ass: Eisei had the remote on his right hand and was ready to activate it.

"Let's begin!"

He turned it on and the dildos began to spin clockwise and anti-clockwise respectively before the piston began to pump and plunge into the prisoner's ass: he quickly shuddered and arched his body but wouldn't move too much given the thick ropes keeping him glued to the column and how his legs couldn't articulate: so he could only shake the head in negation yet Eisei merely snickered.

"It brings forth pain beyond imagination as it forces its way in but after a while… You soon began to feel… good! Very good indeed! It'll start as a numb feeling in your ass… And it'll then spread across your body: you'll end up numb from that feeling… Your mind will go blank… The body will send waves across it… And you'll be in a trance! It's going to be fun: to see you submitting to it… Yet… I can do this, too!"

He suddenly stopped the machine when the piston had retreated so that only the tips of the dildos remained inside: the prisoner shuddered and began to move the head up and down energetically as if begging for more of it: Eisei chuckled and pulled the ring of the nipples' pegs upwards: the prisoner shuddered.

"Denial play. I'll deny you the pleasure. It's very effective to destroy your reticence! You were starting to feel good and it suddenly stops! You can't bear that! You want it to continue! You want it to keep on! But I don't need to be merciful. I could leave ya like this all night long…"

The prisoner panicked and negated with the head as he seemingly began to implore once again.

"Heh! Fine… Let's drive you a bit madder…"

He turned it on again but he reduced the speed to "SLOW" mode as if to tease his prisoner: the prisoner seemed to inwardly groan in disappointment and Eisei suddenly placed his right foot over the prisoner's balls: a shudder went down his body.

"I never said I'd bring you to full pleasure! I'm going to slowly build it up: it'll teach you that you're but my tool! You only serve to be fucked and to suck cocks! That's all! I don't care how you feel like. So I'm going to slowly torture you by denying you of the pleasure… And soon you will swallow your reticence and submit to me, you will lick my feet… You will crawl across the ground… You will dirty yourself…"

The prisoner began to panic again: Eisei grinned and increased the speed one level: the prisoner began to get "in the mood" again so Eisei chuckled under his breath as he lifted the bag and stuffed his cock into the prisoner's opened mouth: he gripped his head and began to set the pacing for the prisoner to follow: he also increased the speed to max speed again and he grinned.

"Heh! Now you're totally dependent on this sensation. If you don't have it you can't live, eh? Too bad but it's soon gonna end… But in its place I'm gonna teach you how a real rod feels like…"

He released inside of the prisoner's mouth and lowered the bag: he then attached the hook to a "diamond" on the prisoner's back and undid the ropes keeping him bound to the column: he lifted him and moved him towards the right: the prisoner swung in mid-air but couldn't do much: Eisei then sat down on a chair and hardened his cock as he lowered the prisoner into his cock: he picked a dildo to fill up the remaining space: he finally gripped the sides of the prisoner's body and began to move him up and down along the length of his cock: he also toyed with his nipples and his balls to further tease him.

"Heh. Once I'm done with ya… Let's see if your cellmates will you a warm welcome… There's one of them that's interesting… The guy will make sure to test you if ya have the qualifications to share space with 'im… Maybe it's about time we rewarded the guy… Heh, heh."

He released inside of the prisoner's ass and took off his urethra vibrator to allow the prisoner to release: he did so and fainted so Eisei chuckled and lowered him into the wheeled platform: like the day before he brought him into the cell and made him roll to meet the feet of Number 1: Number 2 had managed to crawl to the SE corner and was apparently trying to hide there: Eisei shut the door and headed to the surveillance center to check on the room's status.

"Let's see… Heh! Like I predicted!"

Number 1 had crawled to Number 3's position and had begun to rape him as well: Number 3 was trying to lift his back to shake him off but was unable to resist him: Eisei amusedly looked on as Number 1 released into Number 3's ass and then crawled to the front to make him suck up his cock: Number 3 did so and Number 1 eventually released again: he then kicked Number 3 towards the SE corner while he resumed his place in front of the door: Eisei chuckled.

"Fine. Tomorrow I'll ascend the guy to sadist class yet… That won't change that the guy is also my slave. Just because I allow the guy to fuck the others the guy's status won't change. I can still fuck the guy as much as I want and the guy will have to obey me. I'll place a mask with a voice distorter to hide his ID from the others. But he doesn't need to speak to begin with. Yet I want to be on the safe side. I'll also want insurance so I'm going to place a control belt into the guy… Two dildos in the ass the whole time: if ya try to run they'll turn on at max speed and that should paralyze you and impede your escape attempt." Eisei muttered aloud.

He switched off the feed and then checked a piece of paper which had the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 written on it: 1 to 3 had been crossed out with a pencil with 4 and 5 had a question mark next to each.

"It'll be hard. They're already wary. Too many could mean that I won't be enough to control them. No. Let's keep these 3. Will be more than enough: it'll be fun to see them slowly breaking down over the course of the days to come. Now let's check out on the others."

He began to spy on the Cyber World and spotted Omega and Tabuu discussing somewhere.

"Heck. Our system isn't working. What can we do? Spying them 24/7 is out of question." Tabuu grumbled.

"Of course it is. We just need to think of another system."

"If there's one."

"Let's not be defeatist here." Omega grumbled.

"It's hard not to be. Given these circumstances."

"We did check the info we got. Virus was indeed in Matsuyama but we don't know if he's still in the city or has fled. We know the guy's face but he could've changed it ever since then."

"Huh? They knew that _Danna – sama_ went to Matsuyama? How could they?" Eisei gasped.

"We infiltrated the hotel and checked the room occupants but none of them had anything on the police records. It's not totally legal but it's an emergency situation. Yet we mustn't let paranoia hunt us and make us check each and every person out there."

"Of course not." Tabuu sighed.

"No advance, I take it? Gentlemen." Serenade walked up to them.

"Ah. Serenade. No, sadly enough." Omega sighed.

"I see. We underestimated the opponent."

"Don't we all?" Tabuu fumed.

"Anger shall not lead to a resolution."

"I know that. It's just that… it's incredibly frustrating."

"I know it is. But that is not a reason to allow anger to rule over the body and the mind."

"Omega, Tabuu. A new tip-off. Virus was in Hiroshima yesterday and had been blackmailing some politician that got involved with an illegal gay club: now that he's gotten enough money he's leaked the news to the press and the politician has been arrested. Tomorrow we need to get Commissioner Kifune to request a copy of the interrogation's transcription." Vadous told them.

"Geh! That's real info too!" Eisei was panicking, for once.

"Roger that. We could try investigating the Hiroshima underground."

"Yeah. Maybe Virus is still doing stuff there thinking we've got no idea where he's at. And I'm sure that he leaked the news is a manner so that his name isn't mentioned."

"Roger that."

"Serenade: make sure that there are no secret backdoors or something like that in key areas of the Reverse Internet."

"Understood."

"This is BAD! The _Danna_ said he'd be in Hiroshima 'till tomorrow… Luckily he left behind an emergency number!" He gasped.

He shut off the feed and dialed a number on his PET.

"Eisei? What's happened?" A man asked.

"Danna! They know you're in Hiroshima!"

"WHAT?"

"They're about to start investigating: you need to scram off the city ASAP before they find out your trail!"

"Fuck! How could…? Grah! No time for that. I only have to pack up in 10 minutes and be off! I'm off to Kobe! Is everything under control on your end?" Virus grumbled before asking.

"Everything is under control. But you'll have to be careful, _Danna_."

"At least I arranged for some distractions starting tomorrow! Damn them all. Vadous…! The guy's gotten sharp…!"

The call ended and Eisei sighed in relief: he then frowned.

"… Obihiro and Zeta? Maybe they're the ones who got the info? But how could they know where to start looking? Hmmm… This reeks. But trying to monitor them is risky. They could trace me back. Discarded."

He reclined on the wheeled chair and sipped some pear juice which he had in a glass with some ice cubes on it: he looked thoughtful.

"Maybe I should come out and show them that I'm a tough guy. Let's corner one of them, make a demo and scram. That's it."

 _You'll soon know about the true power of Eisei Aaron…! Heh, heh, heh!_


	5. Chapter 5: The fugitive

**Chapter 5: The fugitive**

07:17 AM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 6th…

"… Damn it. Nothing here either."

"Shit."

"So this rumor was a rumor and there was nothing here to begin with: talk about a waste of time, Zarashe – kun."

"I know, Beta…!"

"If only the guy hadn't given Omega and the others the slip yesterday…! They were so close to catching the guy!"

"Yeah… And I don't believe we'll get another chance at it either…"

"HRA~H!"

"Whoa!"

"Found you! You damned traitor!"

"Who…?"

Beta X was inspecting an abandoned "Cybernetics" somewhere and grumbling aloud as he discussed with Zarashe: someone rushed in and suddenly delivered an attack which he barely dodged: the attack hit the floor and formed a small explosion while opening a crater: the attacker was quite tall and wore a heavy black cloth that covered the whole of their body.

"I'm a vengeful soul!" He roared.

"Yeah. Like that'll impress me."

"I've come to make you pay for your selfish treason!"

"Selfish treason? Wrong person. You've gone senile."

"Hah! That irony won't save you from your punishment!"

"Stop acting. Virus hired you. Bring it on."

"What "Virus"? I serve my Master!"

"And your "Master" is a mercenary. Obviously enough! So bring it on already, Mr. X wannabe." Beta X was getting annoyed.

"Hmpf! Death Ball!"

"Huh? It rings a bell somewhere."

"Yeah. Dunno why."

The attacker formed a bluish spheroid with a brownish core from which energy beams radiated: it flew towards Beta X but he merely jumped into the air and formed a white Buster with curved "wing" pieces emerging from the sides and the top and the bottom: he loaded up a green beam of energy and shot it at the spheroid thus causing its destruction: the attacker suddenly rushed for him while hovering over the floor and extending the right fist: Beta X used a booster to fly to the left to dodge and the attacker quickly whipped around.

"Flamethrower!"

"Guo~h! My cloth!"

"Let's see who you are and…! You!"

"Yes! Me!"

"HIGH – MAX?"

The attacking Navi's cloth was burnt by Beta X's flamethrower attack and he gasped as he recognized the attacker.

High – Max was a rather tall Net Navi whose main color palette was jet black: he appealed as being close to two meters tall.

His face's skin was metallic grey while his eyes were white and expressionless: his mouth's position denoted seriousness.

The center of his upper body had a ruby-colored spheroid set on it plus a hexagonal white patch of armor with the emblem painted upon it.

The emblem was a circle with a red rim and orange flames painted inside of it: a black trident was set on the middle of it and two purple-colored eyes sans pupils looked on from inside of the sea of flames.

The helmet was built around his head and included a segment covering the length of his nose: a ruby jewel in the form of an oval had been built on his forehead: the centermost section of the helmet was colored white but the rest of it was jet black in coloring.

Two horn-like extensions formed at both sides of the helmet and aimed upwards while leaving a small space between them.

His shoulders had thick armor built over it and two metallic grey stripes signaled the beginning and end of the short arms which didn't have elbows: golden armor surrounded his wrists while his fingers were colored in both white and grey painting.

The skin below the armor was jet black in coloring, too, and it was visible because the armor ended slightly above the stomach area: a black belt was built around his waist and it had a yellowish piece of armor set on the center portion: the armor beneath it was colored white and was surrounded by black armor: two gray stripes were painted over the hips to signal the start of his legs.

Gigantic armor covered the legs starting at the knees and then developing into large and thick feet: two yellow rectangles were placed together at the start of each leg along with a black pattern having a shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "Y" slightly below the start of the legs: the feet themselves were shielded by sturdy armor colored white and with black edges plus two small holes near the heel.

Overall, he was tall and commanding.

"Yes! That's me! I am your CO! Beta X! And you betrayed the "Devil Syndicate"!"

"You're one to talk. You got caught before I was. Number 1 fell before Number 2. Reversal of roles?" He sneered

"Hmpf! Master Caesar raised your Operator as his son!"

"DON'T SCREW ME~!" Zarashe suddenly roared.

"Huh? What?" High – Max frowned.

"THAT DAMNED MADMAN HAD ME KIDNAPPED, TORTURED, USED A CHIP IN MY HEAD TO TURN ME AMNESIAC AND USED ME AS A GUINEA PIG FOR SOME WORTHLESS THEORY~! I SPENT OVER HALF A YEAR CONSUMED BY GUILT AND DEPRESSION! HALF A YEAR OF MY LIFE WASTED! NOT COUNTING ALL THOSE MONTHS THAT MAN STOLE FROM MY LIFE! THAT DAMNED SEPTIMUS WANNABE!"

"E~h?" High – Max gasped.

"… I had to say it! Damn it! Who'd stick around with a man that had me shoot my best friend! Fuck them! I'm a human! Not a damned lab mouse! But the fucker treated me as such! "Humans can live sans memories of the past"… WE KNEW THAT! IT'S NAMED AMNESIA! FIND A REAL AMNESIAC AND CHECK HIS CLINICAL RECORDS!" Zarashe roared next.

"And, also… By then… The "Syndicate" had been destroyed. So I really didn't betray: the org stopped existing. So I wasn't affiliated to anyone else. Like I was telling you." Beta X dully added.

"Gruh… Whatever! Fine! I've just come to defeat you! To repay the debt to "Mr. Worm" for freeing me from the Navi Prison!"

"Hah. Virus now names himself "Worm", huh? As in computer worm. How smug of the rascal. Fine. Zarashe – kun! Focus!"

"… Alright! We'll prove it to you! That we've improved! Go, Beta! Hail Buster!"

"Hail Buster!"

"Hah! Defense Circles!"

High – Max formed two white rings with circuitry drawn on them over his knees and shoulders and they formed almost invisible energy fields spreading up and down: the hail that Beta X shot impacted against the field and vaporized on contact: Beta X didn't lose his cool and formed an spheroid frizzling with electricity which he shot at the field: it attached there and began to drain the field of energy: High – Max suddenly formed two white walls with circuitry drawn on them at his sides: they fused to form a transparent cube while he spawned another "Death Ball" which he flung at Beta X: he simply ducked as High – Max rushed in loading energy on his right fist which he'd closed: Beta X formed a steel beam which he placed on the midst of the path: it easily bent when High – Max's right fist impacted it while Beta X loaded another flamethrower and attacked High – Max with it but he lifted the left arm to protect: it got a burnt mark but he didn't seem to feel any pain to begin with: he suddenly tackled forward with the right shoulder and Beta X barely escaped by placing a brick wall: High – Max easily broke through it and continued yet the blow had robbed him of some speed and strength so Beta X formed a 10cm thick concrete wall: High – Max managed to break through most of it but got stuck when he was about 8cm inside: he began to try to break out.

"Now! Program Advance!"

"Program Advance!"

"Flame, Elec, Aqua Sword! Attack Plus 20! Slot In!"

"Dream Sword 3! 620 damage!"

"620!" High – Max gasped.

"EAT THIS!"

Beta X rushed for High – Max and delivered three slashes of energy: a red one which left some burn marks across his upper body, a yellow one which electrocuted his left arm and a blue one that soaked some of his body: he groaned and tried to pull out of the wall.

"How was that like? You've got 1000 HP so you've lost 620… Plus what you'd lost from my previous attacks… About 200… So you've got less than 200 HP left… No wonder. You've been in prison for a year and a half so it's obvious your body is sluggish."

"D-damn them!"

"Beta! Behind you!"

"Whoa! Who…? Ah! One of these! A Promethean Knight from the upcoming HALO 4…! Virus ripped them from the E3 Demo version and used them to guard his hideout last month!"

Beta X dodged the attack of the "Promethean Knight" (a blast from a gun it had) and aimed his Buster at it: the enemy suddenly transformed into some streams of blue energy that focused on a central spheroid and vanished: it reappeared next to High – Max and signaled the floor with the right arm: a large "portal" with a purple edge and black body formed on the floor and both High – Max and the wall "sunk" inside of it: the thing suddenly shrank and vanished: the "Promethean Knight" glared at Beta X and suddenly opened the face's cover to reveal that its head was but a skull to begin with: it roared and then warped away: Beta X lowered the buster and sighed.

"Looks like Virus retrieved the guy. We should go warn Mr. Zataki. Now we know why Virus has been so quiet insofar…!"

"I know… That damned Septimus wannabe…!"

12:37 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Grawwwllll!"

"What's up, Junior?"

"GRRRR!"

"There's a strong enemy close by, huh? Virus?"

"GRAWWWWLLLL!"

"Whoa! You sure are excited today."

"No wonder! My own EM field must drive the pet crazy!"

"Who's there?"

"Name's… Gray Thunderbolt!"

"Never heard of you before."

"No matter!"

Forte and "Gospel Jr." had been patrolling the Reverse Internet close to the "WWW Area" entrance when "Gospel Jr." got excited and began to growl aloud, surprising Forte: a voice rang out and he got into combat stance as the voice echoed from everywhere at the same time: Forte began to sweat in nervousness, even.

"I'm gonna prove my power to ya!"

Gray Thunderbolt's face skin color was a dull olive green – like coloring and a faint black and thin line drawing of an electrical current's spectrum shaped like a triangle formed on the SW and SE corners of his face and climbed past the note until they ended slightly beneath the forehead's helmet edge.

The eyes' irises were of a blood red color.

His hair was orange-colored and spread out from behind the helmet in a wild flock manner reaching until the base of his neck.

The helmet's design was peculiar: it had a form seemingly made out of a spheroid's upper half and its main color was gray: the center of it had a drawing which could be interpreted as an arrow pointing downwards which also had two small triangles popping out of the sides.

If seen from above and looking from north to south it could be a cutaway silhouette of a tree as well: a golden-colored plain horn formed on the middle of the drawing and aimed upwards.

The ear-pads had two parts: they began as simple gray metallic disks attached half-way between the upper helmet and the sides of the rest of the helmet: then a dome formation sprouted from there and had a small hole cut atop it.

The sides of the helmet included two slightly curved triangles colored orange spanning past the lower jaw by a few centimeters.

His neck was protected by circular gray bands stacked one atop the other with a total of three plus a wider circle at the base of the neck.

Regarding the chest armor, it could be described as simplistic: the color of choice was gray again and the only noticeable things on it were two cavities cut on the center of it shaped after diamonds: they were red on the inside and there was a very thin black line cutting through them spanning half-way across the chest.

His arms were covered by a peculiar golden armor which seemed to reinforce their strength: each shoulder had a soup bowl – like shape along with the cover set over it: a golden horn spread from the center of the cover.

The armor then continued with a slight division drawn half-way the arm located between the shoulder and the elbow: the elbow segment happened to have a circular piece from which a curved fin aiming towards the shoulder emerged: this elbow armor could be divided in four different segments: the first one was a little piece of golden armor in the form of a circle's lower half.

It was continued by a set of three half-circular metallic bands spreading downwards until the start of the wrist.

A screw bolt's head was set half-way between the lower and upper halves of the elbow armor: a black cross was drawn on it (or rather the grooves where a screw driver would be set at) and a straight black line travelled forward from the eastern edge until the wrist.

The last part of the complicated elbow armor included the aforementioned fin.

A small segment of golden armor covered the little space between the elbow and the wrist.

The wrist and part of the hand were encompassed by one featureless metallic black circle from which his usual five fingers (covered in golden "skin") came out.

The body below the chest armor was rather plain: a central vertical stripe which contained the helmet's pattern towards the end as it reached the waist spot: it was painted gray expect on the outer edges where the color switched to purple and ran down the sides of the body including the inner surface of the legs: the outer surface was colored gray too.

His peculiar boots began just at the knee's height and had a customized design which looked like some attempt at being "futuristic" for some reason or another: their color was gray.

The reason why his boots looked peculiar was because they had a descending triangle-shaped ramp running until the ankles and with three golden buttons set in a vertical manner one atop the other near the end of the piece.

The ankles' armor was built in the manner of three purple trapezes set one over the other: the soil of the boots was also designed to have a trapeze form and painted gray.

There was something which looked a recent addition, though, and that was an emblem on the forehead which was the same depicted in Eisei's own Link PET.

"Your face reminds me of someone." Forte frowned.

"Heh! Heavenly Thunderbolt! Gray Thunder!"

"What! Dream Aura! Darkness Overload!"

He suddenly spawned a floating gray energy spheroid that began to make thunderbolts rain down at random before clasping his hands and arms together to generate electricity across them: he shot a powerful beam towards Forte: he defended with the Dream Aura and crouched to then open a hole and shoot the Darkness Overload in a diagonal position to avoid the Gray Thunder from coming in: both attacks were suddenly sucked up by the spheroid and it began to flash and mix its coloring.

"What…? Ah! UWA~H!"

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah!"

The spheroid suddenly dropped atop the Dream Aura and somehow managed to slip through its body to end up inside and imploded in front of Forte: the energy release shattered the Dream Aura and Forte roared in agony as he was sent flying and crashed against Gospel Jr.'s body: several patches of his body had been deleted by the shockwave and they were leaking data.

"Fuck. What the hell was that?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell ya, _Danna – sama_. Pro secret." Gray Thunderbolt snickered.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Gray Thunderbolt."

"Wait! Do you work for Eisei Aaron?"

"Ah! Close, close! I AM Eisei Aaron!"

"What? Ah! PTS!"

"Pulse Transmission System? Of course. This is my Cyber World avatar. I'm using this to interact with both worlds. But I'm not "Zeta"! Zeta's my enemy." He clarified.

"What have you done to them?" Forte managed to stand, panting.

"Heh, heh. Don't worry! They're alive. And in one piece… for now. Heh, heh, heh."

"You fucker…! If it turns out they aren't…!"

"You're gonna blow up my avatar? Heh. Like I care. I can always make a new one from the backup data. And improve it. You won't be so lucky next time around! Heh, heh, heh!" He shrugged.

"Shit…!"

"GRAWWLLL!"

"Gruwa~h! "Wood Gospel"…! Forget about that!"

"Chance! HRA~H! EARTH BREAKER!"

"Gospel Jr." suddenly vomited green flames and Gray Thunderbolt was forced to take cover: Forte recovered in a flash and rushed through the air while loading up energy on his right hand: he unleashed it on Gray Thunderbolt's right arm armor: the energy spread all across its body and it suddenly shattered into countless pieces exposing lighter armor beneath it: Gray Thunderbolt turned white and Forte suddenly kicked his jaw followed by a punch into the stomach area which momentarily stunned him: Forte then shot a close-quarters Darkness Overload and the blow sent Gray Thunderbolt flying and landing, hard, into the ground about 2 meters further ahead: he groaned and Forte quickly drew his Dark Arm Blades to cross them and place them near the guy's neck: Gray Thunderbolt grumbled.

"Fuck. I had to forget about that thing!"

"Game Over, Lucy!"

"Grrawwlll!"

"What? Whoa! Too close! Where'd this freak…? Hey! A "Promethean Knight" from the upcoming HALO 4!"

Another "Promethean Knight" had showed up and tried to attack Forte with one of its heavy weapons: Forte barely dodged and got into combat stance: the enemy warped and reappeared next to Gray Thunderbolt: it chuckled and another 4 enemies showed up: 3 of them ran towards Forte while the other helped Gray Thunderbolt stand up: he chuckled and warped away along with the "Promethean Knight": Forte was busy trying to think of a way to beat them as "Gospel Jr." shielded him from all attacks they shot at him: they suddenly flung grenades over it and Forte jumped away: these grenades formed an orange ring of energy with a central point which then exploded and caused a shockwave: Forte grumbled and jumped into the air while drawing the Hell's Buster: he began to shoot at the enemies and inflicted some damage before they ran out and he sighed in relief.

"Gray Thunderbolt…! The guy's no kidding… That attack that managed to get inside of my Dream Aura…! What the hell was it? Maybe Tabuu knows something about that. Let's go, Junior!"

 _Damn it all. The guy ran away. But next time… I'll catch the guy and have them confess where "they" are at! Wait for us, guys…! We'll free you!_

23:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! Remember. Even though I upgraded your status… That doesn't change that you're MY slave. You're allowed to train the other two but you will obey my orders. Else I'm gonna throw you into that brig again and make those 2 turn ya into their pet instead. You're not to speak when training them. I'll do all speaking. You be quiet. Just treat them as the chaff they are."

Eisei was standing the wooden room and talking to Number 1 who'd been granted the same clothing as Eisei yet he wore a black cap, shades over his eyes and a blue wool handkerchief up to his nose so his identity kept on being unknown: Eisei was giving him instructions as they stood in front of the brig's door: two wheeled platforms were placed there.

"I'll open. You go first and pick any of them. It won't make much of a difference anyway. I'll be waiting here. Head to the left and place the guy on the stage as I showed you. While you're at it I'll pick the other. And remember: if you try anything funny I'm gonna turn the dildos in your ass and make you collapse. To then turn you into these 2 guys' plaything: and I'm serious." He reminded him.

The prisoner merely remained still and at a some distance as Eisei kept an eye on him: he opened the door and signaled for him to get in: Number 1 picked Number 2 (could be told because he had a red "2" drawn on his naked back) and placed him on the platform: he headed away and Eisei waited until he'd put some distance between him and the door: Eisei quickly picked Number 3, placed him atop the platform and exited into the main room while shutting the door: he headed for a couple of wooden stages that were ankle-height high: they had restrains for the legs built into the floor and a pillory for the head at its front end: Number 1 had closed the cuffs (3 of them per leg: 6 in total) and secured them with padlocks: he opened the pillory and placed Number2's head on it before closing it and securing it with a padlock too: he then inserted a string of anal beads on Number 2's ass before stepping away.

"Good. Wait for me to finish setting Number 3. Then we turn on the cameras and record. I'll later use Premiere Pro to edit the film and turn into an MP4 file to upload it to some gay video tube. With the dim lightning and all we can trick the audience into believing they're 18."

Number 1 merely remained still and silent: Eisei proceeded to secure Number 3 to the stage from an angle in which he could constantly see what Number 1 was doing: Number 1 never moved and Eisei calmly finished setting up Number 3.

"Good. We start in 5 seconds. Fuck the ass until you release. Then move forward and have him suck your cock. Then hit his balls with that over there…"

He signaled a rope which had a very big knot at its end which looked thick and strong: he sneered while Number 1 merely followed Eisei's instructions and got in position.

"Now!" He whispered.

Both stuffed their cocks into the prisoners' asses and began to rape them as Eisei turned on the vibrators: the prisoners began to struggle but couldn't move an inch to begin with: Eisei chuckled.

"As you can see, our public… We've got two excellent super masochists here. They're still _amateurs_ but we're training them to become excellent twinks. They'll soon drown into pleasure and want more of it. So we'll provide it. My pal is a sadist in the training and he's timid so he won't say anything." He spoke for the camera.

He glanced at Number 1 and saw that he wasn't doing anything suspicious or out of place to begin with: he resumed facing the cameras and his grin widened.

"I had these stages built for easy fucking. And once we're done with the ass we'll show you how these guys suck in cocks and go mad with the flavor they have. In the meanwhile… I'll bring forth those fucking machines a bit behind us to tease their asses… They need something to keep them busy, y'know!" He explained.

He increased his pace and so did Number 1: some rap-lime music rang out on the background as if to heat up the scene: Eisei began to smack Number 3's buttocks and Number 1 did the same with Number 2: they then released inside of their asses and pulled out: Eisei chuckled and stepped to the right while Number 1 stepped to the left: he drew the remote and a "fucking machine" (consisting on a rail, a plastic structure, a disc and a dildo attached at the end of a metallic arm) slid forward.

"Look on, public… These guys are about to experience their first fucking machine ever! Their reaction will be real! Not some acting! You can't miss this!" He narrated for the video.

The machines stopped and turned on: the discs began to spin making the rod with the dildo move in and out of the prisoners' asses: they began to try to struggle again but couldn't do anything to begin with: Eisei laughed and moved to the front while rubbing his cock beneath the prisoner's nose: Number 1 copied him and did the same.

"Here they are… They know this scent, this feeling… It's time to suck up some cocks… Because what's what they are for: to suck up cocks. So, without more preludes… Let's get the show into the road!"

He lifted his prisoner's bag to reveal his forcibly opened mouth: he stuffed the cock inside and began to move at a pace he set for the prisoner to follow even if he couldn't move his head from its current position: Eisei was gripping the head with both hands in the meanwhile as if to inflict further pain to the prisoner.

"Heh! Look on at how they must suck it! They're so miserable! That's what slaves are for! To fuck them and to have them suck your cocks! They'll soon become excellent slaves… Heh, heh!"

He kept on forcing Number 3 to suck his cock up and glanced at how Number 1 was doing the same and he didn't seem to be trying to do anything out of place: Eisei resumed looking forward and grinned as he filled the prisoner's mouth with his release: Number 1 did the same and both stepped back to see them drool the cum down their chins and into the ground.

"Aren't they pitiful? Say so, my public! But pitiful or not that doesn't change that their fate is to become meat to be used! That's the rule of the world! And now… Let's see them faint once we free them!"

They lowered the bags to cover their mouths again and crouched next to the prisoners to grip their cocks and balls: both crushed the balls with the left hand as they rubbed their cocks with the right hand.

"Let's drive them a bit madder before that… _No pain no gain_! They need to be reminded this is an exception… 'Cause we feel in a good mood today: normally we'd deny them that to further tame them…"

He then unplugged the urethra vibrator and allowed Number 3 to release: he quickly fainted and the same happened to Number 2: Eisei stopped the cameras and signaled for Number 1 to come to where he was: he did so and Eisei snickered as he hardened his cock: Number 1 merely sat on his knees on the ground and lowered the handkerchief to then place his hands on the ground: he began to suck Eisei's cock as he set a pace and Eisei grinned.

"Remember! You're still my slave. My personal slave. Those 2 won't touch you but I'll do whatever I want with you. Don't test me. Or you know what'll happen. If I order you to then you will show me your ass and I'll fuck it 'cause I feel like it. And you will do nothing but obey. Be mature and don't try to play hero. It'll only lead to bad consequences for you: VERY BAD consequences." He ordered.

Number 1 seemed to shudder and increased the pace as if to please Eisei: he chuckled and released inside of his mouth: Number 1 didn't dare to move from that pose but Eisei signaled for him to get up and turn around: he did so and he lowered the jeans to reveal that Number 1 had a chastity belt on locked in place by 2 padlocks: it did allow him to use his cock through a hole on the front but he couldn't touch his balls: Eisei chuckled and unlocked it: the thing slid down Number 1's legs and got stopped by the jeans: Eisei then stuffed a string of anal beads into Number 1's ass and then inserted his cock: Number 1 let out a small groan.

"If you manage to be silent then I _might_ reward ya…" He teased with an evil snicker.

Number 1 swallowed saliva and tried to remain silent as Eisei had him bend his upper body towards the ground: he thrust in and out of his ass until he released and chuckled.

"Alright. Go to the WC if you need to before I lock this up again. Make sure to properly cleanse it with the disinfectant I left on the sink. I'll check it out when you come back!" He ordered.

Number 1 lowered his head as if to signal he would obey and left the room: Eisei unlocked the prisoners from the stages and loaded them into the platforms: he quickly tossed them inside of the brig and locked the door: a couple of minutes later Number 1 came back having placed the belt back on its original position: Eisei checked it and then locked it up.

"Good. Your bed is over there. Mine is on another room… But that other room can only be accessed through my hand scan… And the signals of my chip implant… If I'm stressed or unwilling to… The system will reject the access. So trying to use me to force a way out is pointless. And that room isn't the way out either." He warned.

He signaled a _futon_ with a single sheet and a plain cushion set on the NE corner of the room close to the restroom entrance: Number 1 sat on there while Eisei calmly walked towards the scanner but in a way that he was constantly monitoring him: he opened the door and quickly shut it behind him while chuckling.

"Heh. Looks like the guy understands the position he's in. Good. As long as he behaves as I say… I don't mind letting him being my "partner" when it comes to fucking the other 2… Heh, heh. Let's check on those guys: I need to make sure they didn't find _Danna – sama_ 's trail again."

He sat in front of the desk and opened the computer: he could see Forte, Omega and Tabuu discussing.

"So? Any new tip-offs?" Tabuu asked Omega.

"I don't want to say it aloud. Virus could be controlling our actions."

"Heck. They predicted that." Eisei grumbled.

"So then… How are we gonna know where to go?"

"Like this…"

Omega handed Forte and Tabuu what seemed to be a cardboard box with a cover: Tabuu opened it and checked the insides but the camera couldn't see what was inside: Tabuu then handed it to Forte and he checked it out: both nodded in understanding while Eisei grumbled.

"Even if I got a camera behind… Their face's shadow would hide the text!"

"We'll use a powerful type of encryption I built myself. It also acts as a scrambler so anyone who listens in will only hear nonsense."

"OK. Let's go, then! Time to hunt."

Eisei cut the feed and grumbled before forming one of his snickers.

"Soon more interlopers will show up… We're geniuses! Hah, hah, hah!"


	6. Chapter 6: Sun & Moon

**Chapter 6: Sun & Moon**

08:18 AM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 7th…

"… Damn it all. Hard to believe the rascal managed to slip again yesterday despite our precaution of not saying the name of the place aloud and picking long routes to shake off pursuers…!"

"I know, Netto – kun! That bastard…! And that Gray guy…! The guy's dangerous too…! He shows up wherever he feels like it! And is spreading misinformation so that our friends can't be on the lookout!"

"And to top it off…! He managed to kidnap 3 of our pals…!"

Netto was discussing with Rock Man as he walked down a main street of the Internet City: both were annoyed and furious and totally frustrated by now.

"First was… Enzan! Vanished from his office one night while Blues was taking care of the security patrol!"

"Yeah… Not even 24 hours later… Delta! He was sleeping in his PET but someone intruded it and silently kidnapped him while leaving a "bot" program to issue fake hourly reports!"

"And to top off… The next day… Rafael was kidnapped too! With the same method!"

"So now we've lost 2 powerful defenders. Obviously enough, the "Hunters' Guild" is searching Heaven and earth to find their leader but they're not having luck. Obihiro somehow gets reliable info about Virus' whereabouts but this is the 2nd time he's slipped away."

"Yeah… It's so damned frustrating…"

"Tee, heh, heh. Then let's vent off that frustration… I'll make of you my pet – chan!" A woman's voice rang out.

"Damned. I know that voice." Rock Man cursed.

"I know it too!" Netto grumbled.

"What honor! So you hadn't forgotten me, eh?"

"How could we forget someone SO annoying like YOU?"

"Tee, heh, heh. Moonlight's back! No – one will stop US this time around!"

"Sheesh!"

A woman Navi suddenly dropped there from atop a nearby store.

Her eyes' irises were purple and her facial constitution was that of a woman on her mid-20s.

Long smooth blackish hair came out from behind her helmet extending until the heels: her ear-pads had the Alphabet "Z" character drawn into them: it was painted black drawn and set against a blood red background

Her helmet was colored black with purple edges and had a purple-colored hexagram drawn into the forehead.

Her main body armor was colored purple with black edges and drawings of the moon phases' (except for the new moon which was drawn in black coloring inside of the chest emblem and set against a navy blue background) colored white.

Her arms had black armor with purple rings drawn next to the shoulder.

These rings were placed before and after the elbow and at the start of the forearm armor which included a white knife-carrying accessory: 3 knives were inserted there.

She carried a belt with two handguns stored on it plus several grenades and two pouches for storing stuff: the _gekkou_ (moonlight) _kanji_ was drawn on the center of it using white tint against a black background.

Her legs had white rings drawn on the hips, before and after the knees and on the ankle: she carried another two knife-carrying accessories there with three knives in each one: the boots were colored purple and had black soil.

"You villain." Rock Man grumbled and drew the Rock Buster.

"Tee, heh, heh." She giggled.

"Ah! Good timing. Forte."

"FORTE? WHERE?"

She suddenly drew both handguns and removed the safety before aiming them: there was no – one and she gasped: a Charge Shot suddenly hit her back and she yelped before turning around: Rock Man had shot it.

"How dare ya!"

"I dare. Anything is valid in battle."

"I'll make you regret that!"

"Maybe you want me to bring out my full power? You saw it, no? When I battled Corruption…"

"Oh heck. Not that thing!" She turned white on the spot.

"So you'd be better off not annoying me."

"NYA~H!"

"Cat complex? Go watch cat videos on YouTube." Rock Man taunted.

"Why the nerve of this BRAT!"

"Charmed."

"Whatever! Eat these!"

She suddenly began to shoot laser bolts from her guns but Rock Man merely ran towards a nearby alley between two stores: Moonlight hissed and began to chase as she threw 2 grenades ahead of her: they produced a bang and a flash and she hurried there only to find it was empty: Rock Man suddenly dropped from the right roof and landed his feet on her shoulders from behind thus tackling her into the ground: he ran away and Moonlight got to her feet to chase him only to end up in the main square where the "Hunters' Guild" had assembled: she was surrounded and Rock Man was standing behind Red Sword.

"Oh heck."

"Hmpf. You lot again." Red Sword scoffed.

"Mice." Cosmo Man taunted.

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK! MEN!"

"So what." Red Sword shot back.

"Hyu~h! Let's attack!" Blizzard Man rallied.

"Let's! Many Cloud!"

"Snow Rolling!"

"Cosmo Ring!"

"Delta Ray Edge!"

"Charge Shot!"

"KYA~H!"

"Careful."

"OK."

The attacks met her mark and some smoke ensued from the explosions: Rock Man whispered to them to be careful and they remained tense: Rock Man glanced over his left shoulder and spotted something.

"She's using the smoke as cover and is trying to aim for our backs." He whispered.

"Don't worry. I prepared something." Red Sword chuckled.

He drew a crossbow that had a banana's skin loaded on it and aimed for the ground: he shot it and Moonlight stepped into it, making it slip and having her end up face-up in the air and waving her arms and legs desperately to try to regain balance but she hit the ground face-up and a CLONG ensued when her helmet hit the ground: the smoke cleared and Moonlight cursed in another idiom.

"A little rip-off from _The Last Story_ … A rip for a rip!"

"Fitting." Cosmo Man grinned.

"Don't lower the guard, guys. This villain's always up to something." Rock Man warned them.

"Sheesh! That was so humiliating…! But! I'm not going down so easily! The new reign of terror is about to begin! Eat these!"

She tossed some grenades at the ground and they rolled across it: the group dispersed as smoke formed and Rock Man quickly put on the face-mask along with transparent blue rectangular shades over his eyes as if to properly see through the smoke.

"2 o'clock!" He called out to Red Sword (standing behind him and covering his back).

"Delta Ray Edge!"

"Kyah!"

"Wait. That was an act: you actually missed. 5 o'clock now!"

"Cosmo Ring!"

"Damn. She dodged… 8 o'clock!"

"Snow Rolling!"

"Dodged again…! 10 o'clock!"

"Cross Thunder!"

"Alright: here she comes… Ice Stage!"

Moonlight had been about to rush towards Rock Man from the front but she slipped across the Ice Stage and ended up colliding with a Curzdo Virus: it opened its arms and attacked her: she groaned and jumped to another spot but slipped again and ended up meeting a steel pole in the middle of a square: she groaned and was suddenly gripped from behind by Red Sword.

"Game Over."

"Not so fast! Grenade!"

"What? Whack!"

A real grenade landed at Red Sword's feet and it exploded: he let go of Moonlight as another opponent dropped into the area.

"Sunlight on the field!"

"Heck. Sunlight came too!"

Sunlight's design was pretty similar to that of Moonlight's but his colors were orange and red instead of purple and black.

His face was shaped like a man on his mid-20s as well and his eyes' irises were a burning orange color.

The helmet had a red pentagram on the forehead and some reddish hair came out from behind it and extended until the shoulders.

His main armor had drawings of the Sun and the different eclipse phases: a total eclipse was drawn upon his chest emblem against a black background.

His arms were colored in orange color with red rings on the same spots Moonlight had: next to the start of the shoulder, before and after the elbows and on the start of the forearm armor which was colored yellow and had a knife-carrying accessory as well like Moonlight had.

He sported a belt with two handguns, the grenades and the pouches colored orange and red on his waist and the _taiyoukou_ (sunlight) _kanji_ painted orange against a yellow background.

His legs' design was identical to that of Moonlight as well given how he too carried the knife-carrying accessories.

His boots were orange with yellow soils.

"So! You rascals are back for more!" Forte joined the fray.

"Perfect. You'll kill the boredom." Omega was there too.

"Oh shit." Both cursed.

"So? Going to run away? Go ahead, run like the mice you are." Omega dully taunted.

"Who's gonna run! Sunlight! Let's do it!"

"Ou! _Ane-ue_!"

"Shit. Disperse! Put some distance!" Omega ordered.

Everyone quickly obeyed: both Navis' bodies started to shine with a pale grey aura as they began to focus energy and then shot a red and blue beam towards each other tus making them merge.

"Twilight Destruction!" Both announced.

Their beams had combined into a golden sphere of energy which they threw towards the center of the square.

"Jump! NOW!"

They jumped to dodge just as a powerful shockwave destroyed the whole of the floor and revealed nothingness beneath it: they had all landed in nearby rooftops and the defenders were cursing aloud.

"Shit. We lost the ground!" Omega fumed.

"And we're forced into an aerial battle!"

"Hah! That happens because you underestimate us!" Moonlight laughed at them.

"Yeah! Bring it on if you've still got the GUTS!" Sunlight taunted.

"Of course we've got them! Taste our new weapon! Go!"

Omega formed a purple mass of energy shaped like him and it flew across the air towards them: Sunlight formed some meteors and tossed them at the mass yet they were repelled by some kind of field: Moonlight then formed a miniature Moon and it shot a golden beam of energy yet it broke down into multiple and smaller beams when it was about to make contact with the object: it suddenly halted inches away from them and it glowed white before a powerful shockwave erased the roof those 2 were standing at: they fell inside of a store the ground of which still persisted and they saw how most the environment caught in the shockwave got instantly deleted as well: Omega and Forte jumped into the store so both got into combat stance again yet their confidence seemed to be gone and replaced by some primal fear.

"W-w-w-WHAT was THAT?" Sunlight asked in rush.

"I don't need to answer." Omega dully replied.

"Fuck." Moonlight cursed.

"Bring it on! Or flee." Forte challenged.

" _A-ane ue_!" Sunlight called out.

"This is bad. They've got a weapon with destructive power equal to our combined attack… And something tells me all of them can use them… This IS BAD!" She nervously muttered.

"Is that all there's to the famed Z – Militia?" Omega taunted.

"KI~H! MEN! IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT!"

"So what." Forte shot back.

"Eh…" Sunlight timidly called out.

"WHAT NEXT!"

"… Nothing." He gulped.

"I'M GONNA BLOW YOU UP! EAT GRENADES!"

Omega quickly moved and sliced each grenade in half while they were still in the air: Forte rushed in and delivered a kick to Sunlight taking profit of his distracted state: he then brought both hands down on the base of the neck from behind and knocked the guy into the ground: he placed his right foot over the guy and aimed the Hell's Buster at Moonlight who was cornered between that and Omega's saber.

"This is as far as you come."

"No way! It hasn't been 24 hours yet!" Sunlight groaned.

"Huh? Omega! Dodge! Incoming Stinger missiles!"

"What? Oh shit!"

Both jumped away as some Stinger missiles began to fall down across the area forming a circle: the explosions weakened part of the floor and it collapsed thus falling into the abyss below Internet City's ground: a "portal" formed in mid-air and swallowed both of them before it closed: both cursed and spotted a figure standing higher in the sky before it vanished.

"Rock Man and guys! What are you doing?"

"Fighting a legion of 250 Heel Navis!" Rock Man cursed over the radio.

"250? All of a sudden?" Forte gasped.

"Damned. Virus must've arranged for them: they're mass copies that he kept hidden somewhere and warped here! Let's go beat those and put some order!" Omega cursed.

They exited outside the store and into the adjacent rooftops: Rock Man and company were busy trying to deal with the annoying Heel Navis: Omega quickly jumped across the roofs and sliced anything on his wake while sometimes shifting to a plasma gun as well: Rock Man was using a Long Sword while the Hunters' Guild Navis used their default weapons: Forte switched between his Dark Arm Blades and his Hell's Buster as well: the numbers began to dwindle but Omega looked like he didn't trust the look of things.

"Be careful. It could be a trap we've experienced before… Hordes of weak enemies that are constantly spawned before you're finished with the first one… And battles that exhaust you…" He warned.

"Hell." Netto was sweating and cursing.

"Don't worry about that. I intercepted them at the source generator: a backup server in a web design company… It was acting odd so I checked it out and it'd been hacked…" Tabuu told them over the radio.

"Hmmm… Your stunt was to jump off a skyscraper in Dubai all the way into the ocean, no?" Omega suddenly asked.

"No. My stunt was subtler. It involved a canister and a fireball."

"Alright. You're the real one, alright."

"It's good to check but don't let paranoia cloud your judgment. Besides, _aibou_ 's here with me… Right?"

"Yeah. Omega. It's me. You can trace my signal."

"The origin matches. Good."

"Only about 30 of them left…!" Forte was panting by now.

"Heck. They had 250 HP so it took a bit of a while to beat them." Red Sword grumbled.

"Hyu~h…! Huff, huff!" Blizzard Man groaned.

"Huff, huff… Eat these! Many Cloud!"

"Cosmo Gate~!"

"Another 10…!"

"Hell's Buster! Hell's Rolling! Dark Arm Blade!"

"Another 4…!"

"Eat plasma! Eat sword!"

"Done! We're done!"

"Finally!"

The group finished fighting and they sighed in relief.

"Guess that means their head honcho will be coming out soon: I'll show the guy what fear is about." Omega dully muttered.

"Yeah. Guess they must be shuddering by now. Serves them well!"

"Omega? A new tip-off." Vadous whispered.

"Hum. Use the usual method."

"Of course."

He forwarded the box and Omega checked the insides before sending it back: he picked his jaw with the right hand and looked like he was thinking about it.

"I'll request Zero's assistance. You guys are tired. Go back to your places and properly rest."

"Gotcha. I'm going to talk with Serenade and see if he's found anything new or heard any rumors…" Forte told them.

"We'll try to investigate if there are any informers who might know something… Let's go!" Red Sword told the other 3.

"Roger!"

"Netto – kun. Let's properly rest."

"OK, Rock Man. Plug Out!"

Everyone left and Omega warped into the Science Labs where he quickly found Zero who'd finished giving orders to some Program – kun assistants: he calmly turned around.

"Time to go hunting?" He guessed.

"Yeah. Follow me."

"Of course." He drew his blade.

Both stepped through another portal and ended up in another Internet City which was pretty wide and big.

"This is… Himeji City?" He spotted a banner.

"Yeah. The tip-off is that our subject is going to close a deal with some smuggler to get his hands on some material today at noon… In the Dormy Inn Himeji… So we're going to stake out the place. I made sure we weren't traced. But I'm not confident either. Let's be ready for anything."

"Alright. I can take care of the proxies. My blade itches for action."

"Hmpf. Virus… Now you'll know what "fear" is about too… How fitting…"

21:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… OK! I'm back. I brought instant _soba_ , pineapple juice, _gyoza_ , some apples, sliced bread, water, potato chips, peanuts and… a ham & pineapple pizza…"

"… I see."

"Hey. I'm not going to get annoyed at just any word you say. You can complain all you want now that they can't hear us."

"I'm not stupid. I know my place."

"Heh. Starting to regret your impulse? Too bad. But there's no turning back. I've got that document you signed. The police can attest that the handwriting is real."

"… I knew that."

"Heh. Trying to act the unimpressed? Fine. Let's see how long that'll last…"

Eisei (clothed on his usual street clothes) stepped into the room by descending some stairs that could then be pulled up into the ceiling: Enzan was sitting on a chair and looked up from an open novel while looking calm and unimpressed yet he had some reticence to his voice as if he was regretting what he'd done: Eisei smirked and began to accommodate the stuff but not losing sight of Enzan: the stairs had retreated into the ceiling as well so the exit was closed.

"Those stairs won't activate unless I'm willing to. Like this door. So it's useless to force me to. Drugs won't do either." He warned.

"I knew that." He dully replied.

"He who warns a traitor is not." Eisei shrugged.

"Is Virus ever going to come here?" He tried asking.

"Dunno. I don't know what the _Danna – sama_ is up to. I got only told "pick these 3 and have fun with them"… The less I know the less I can confess in case I was caught. Which is possible. I'm realistic. I still dunno who the hell is giving so accurate info to those guys but…"

"Maybe someone who's got a grudge? Like some guy Virus threatened."

"I thought that at first but… Somehow, I don't think so. I think it's more than that… Someone who knows a lot about the _Danna – sama_ … But I'm clueless. Oh well. Guess he'll eventually figure it out."

"And you plan on keeping us here forever?" Enzan sighed.

"Yeah. Complain all you want. Not like it'll change anything."

"I knew that." He looked elsewhere.

Eisei shrugged and finished accommodating stuff: he picked his rations and headed for the hand scanner: he opened the room and quickly shut it to install himself on the control room: he checked the feed of the main room and found that Enzan had begun to eat his rations: the cell showed Delta and Rafael (they no longer had those bags over their heads they were still blindfolded and their mouths forced open) lying face-up one next to the other with their collars linked by a three-slab chain as if to impede either of them running away without having to walk together with the other: Delta had smooth jet black hair which had a shape similar to that of Saito while Rafael's was a messy brownish hair.

"Heh. Fun part is that they still don't know which is which. That is: Delta doesn't know who his pal is and Raf doesn't know either. So they must be inwardly speculating." He muttered.

He switched back to the main room and checked on Enzan: he'd finished having his supper and he sighed before heading to the restroom: Eisei shrugged and checked some websites through Google Chrome: he looked satisfied at what he found.

"Heh. The video I filmed has overcome 25.000 visitors already. It's being highly rated. And they indeed believe we're all 18 or above or close to that age. Oh well. As long as they believe that… Heh, heh, heh! Tonight I'll have fun with Ijuuin out there. Let's wait a bit for the guy to finish with the toilet. Heh. I could have him play with himself and I'd look on. That'd be good to humiliate him and remind him he's supposed to do anything I say to begin with." He chuckled.

His PET rang and he picked it up.

"Eisei? Everything OK over there?

"Yeah. No trouble."

"Huff. Today was close too…! Those guys were waiting for me at the hotel I was at thinking I was going to close a deal there… Luckily I did it on the guy's office! I then managed to sneak in through the windows and pick my stuff to escape… That was close…!"

"Whoa! I'm sorry, but ever since they switched to that cardboard box system to tell each other the locations and impede me from seeing those then… They now use those "portals" which I can't track… And they quickly hide in the real world… I can't detect them there."

"I know you're doing what you can. I don't doubt it. Happens that they've gotten too sharp all of a sudden… Or maybe I've gotten confident and sloppy instead." Virus grumbled.

"Trying to spy on the hackers is dangerous too…"

"Of course. I told you how they repelled one of my Navi proxies last time: by using the _Alien_ … Yeah, Ridley Scott's one!"

"Yikes. I read the comic-book adaptation: and it was gross and scary enough… I better don't see the real thing!"

"Yeah. You better don't." Virus grumbled again.

"My bad, _Danna_! I went off-topic…"

"You're not to blame. Whatever. Keep as you are. Try to figure out something… Some name, some rumor, anything will do for now. I need a lead!"

"Roger. I'll get into it right now."

"Don't stay too much hours either. Else you'll be tired and that could be dangerous because the others could get confident and find a chance to overwhelm you." Virus warned.

"You're right, _Danna – sama_. I'll do it tomorrow, then." Eisei stretched.

"Yeah. Better do it tomorrow. Well. I gotta get on the move. I'm using public phones so you can't call me back. Remember: use the emergency number when an emergency arises."

"I know."

"Fine. See you."

Eisei sighed and placed the PET on the desk: he spotted through the feed that Enzan had come back and he'd actually turned on the "fucking machine" to let it fuck his ass: he was playing with his nipples' clothes pegs: he was rubbing his cock too.

"Heh! The chastity belt is taking effect too. It incites the guy. I did unlock it so that the guy could use the toilet so… Fine. Let's just leave the guy do that for a while."

He inwardly laughed as he witnessed how Enzan was moaning and groaning: he eventually released and collapsed into the ground, panting: he made a grimace.

"Heh. Ijuuin, man… Not enough? You're turning into a masochist again but not like it matters. It's fun. Maybe your old man would be laughing if he could see this. You stopped the guy 'cause he was trying to turn Hikari Junior into his plaything and yet you're becoming a plaything yourself, man. Talk about ironic." He laughed.

He gasped when he spotted Enzan running for the cell door and trying to force it open but to no avail: he inspected the door all over again but had to give up: he closed both fists, frustrated.

"Like I thought. You actually acted like you'd submitted to my "suggestion" but it was a ploy to try to rescue your pals. Classical. And predictable. Too bad, Ijuuin. But I saw that coming. You can't force that door open. And you're too _naïve_. Did you really think I couldn't see what's going out there from this room? Maybe I'll have to punish ya… Or no. Let's pretend I know nothing. It'll be fun to watch this guy despair. And if he runs out of patience and tries to attack me… Heh! I'll turn the guy into those two guys' pet." He shrugged.

Enzan sat back on the chair and directed a glance at the book as if he was thinking of using it somehow: he searched around for something but was unable to find it to begin with.

"There are no pencils or pens there either. And even if you could pass a message inside… They wouldn't be able to know how to pick it up: with their arms unable to move and their legs unable to move too… And they can't see to begin with!" He inwardly laughed.

"Damn it all." Enzan cursed aloud.

"Cursing won't change anything either."

"There's gotta be a way out!" Enzan growled next.

"Nope. There isn't. And don't try to play that old trick of that Holmes tale… What was the name again? Let's Google it… Here! "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder"… Hard to believe Lezareno and Talos managed to lure out a spy out of hiding by pretending the manor had caught fire: talk about unexpected tricks."

"… Just you wait…! I'll find a chance…!" Enzan hissed.

"Heh. What a useless struggle. Fine. Let's do nothing tonight. It could be dangerous. Let's just leave the guy to waste his energies in vain. Maybe tomorrow he'll be more cooperative. As long as I have that document then you've got no other choice but to cooperate. Now… Let's go check some interesting stuff… Like the famed PKMN Movie 2… I'd begun watching before going to buy supper…"

He began to replay the movie and looked interested.

"Heh! I see. So that bird trio actually were in charge of the balance. With "Fire" being caught the first then the seas began to cool… And with "Thunder" next then protein stopped being created… The reason "Freezer" could freeze the sea surely was because its temperature had highly dropped. That "Collector" guy looks cool: the voice actor really gives the guy some vibes… Yet… I still dunno how he did it: how is it that, after he accidentally caught up the boat with Satoshi & company aboard they end up inside of that jail? Were there robots or something? Or… a wizard did it!" He laughed at his joke.

He drank some water and then continued watching.

"Heh! The Rocket Gang trio: actually jumping off Lugia's foot and yelling "you're the main character"! They did something useful, for once! But it's funny how that Yadoking can talk. And he only says "how troublesome" most of the time. Talk about lazy. Laziness."

"Virus…! Show up…! I'll crush you yet!" Enzan was threatening.

"Sure, sure. Waste your energies, Ijuuin. You'll soon regret doing that. Anyway… And that's it! Can't say it was entertaining. Soon enough… Things will turn hotter! And you'll be unable to control them. Heh, heh!"


	7. Chapter 7: Score to settle

**Chapter 7: Score to settle**

09:19 AM (Japan Time), Monday August the 8th…

"… Hum. I suspect a trap. And I know the author."

"That guy, huh?"

"Yeah, Boss… Bah. He'll soon figure out that he's outdated."

"Don't overdo it with the secret weapon."

"I know. Lesson learnt. I've decreased the mass by 60%."

"Good enough."

"Heh, heh, heh. It's been a while, Omega… This time around I shall be the victor!"

"Oh yeah? Despite facing a weapon of unknown nature?"

"Grhdkabhjtkhfkl!"

"Charmed."

Omega had been exploring the "WWW Area" when he noticed someone trailing him so he reported that to Vadous before turning around and turning on his saber: the attacker sounded confident but Omega brought up that of the other day: the attacker growled something undecipherable.

"Kratins Boo, leader of the Z – Militia, is fearless!"

"Objection."

"You're starting to ANNOY ME!"

Kratins Boo was a Net Navi close to two meters tall.

His face looked like a man on his 30s or 40s: his right eye had been replaced by what looked like a black eye-patch with a reddish dot on the middle of it while his left eye's iris was blue in color: his facial expression denoted seriousness.

His head had an unconventional type of protection built around it: the forehead was a reddish square piece with three pale blue shapes drawn inside of it: they looked like sensors to scan: two purplish metallic pieces followed it plus two greenish devices attached to the sides of his head: his ear-pads had that "Z" emblem on them: black hair came out from the rear.

His upper body was colored green on the torso and its sides yet the area slightly above the waist and directly beneath the torso was white in color: the armor looked thick and resistant.

His shoulders were a mix of white and green coloring: his arms lacked visible elbows like in most Net Navis and his forearms' armor was rather thick and strong: it combined purple on the elbow area, green as the predominant color and yellow rims around the wrists: his hands were also covered by "gloves" like other Net Navis.

His waist had a golden ring built around it and the armor below it and until the knees turned black in coloring.

The legs' armor had been built to be thick and strong: it started with two white pieces in the form of the Alphabet character "L" facing each other and constructed above the hips.

The inner side of the legs was unarmored while the outward side of the legs was where the green armor began at: the knees were colored red.

His ankles had a golden ring around them and the armor slightly below the knees was missing thus exposing the bare black-colored "skin" normally protected by it: the feet had a reddish soil and were colored white yet the green armor partly protected the front and back of them.

Kratins Boo formed a mantle colored blue with golden edges around his body: it included a metallic structure over the shoulders which also helped protect the rear of the head thanks to its half-cylinder form: the mantle covered this body all the way until the feet and agitated as if there a wind moving it.

He also carried a large metallic black gun which had a square muzzle and a laser targeting system: it looked heavy and Kratins Boo was using both hands to wield it: the whole thing looked as large as he was.

"Fire~!"

He shot a powerful blue laser towards Omega but he merely stood there as it suddenly split into smaller lasers and curved to fly past him: Kratins Boo grumbled.

"That your best shot?"

"Damn it."

"We've improved."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"Maybe Virus messed with your head to make you cocky."

"Damn it all."

"If that's all you had to do or say…"

"No! Have this for a change!"

He formed a disc made up of six pieces and tossed it into the air and it split into 6 pieces like a fragmentation grenade: they penetrated through the EM field and impacted Omega, stabbing into his body: he growled and drew his saber again as Kratins Boo smirked and formed a large knife on the muzzle of his gun: he dashed forward and clashed with Omega's saber yet it wasn't affected.

"I've set an EM field around it too!"

"And here I thought you were but a gorilla."

"GORILLA? ME?" He grumbled.

"Eat plasma!"

Omega shot a plasma round that flew next to the right of Kratins Boo thus burning a patch of the cloth: Kratins Boo grumbled and suddenly stepped back to then jump into the air and move forward while shooting his gun and drawing a curve: Omega jumped into the air, loaded energy on his saber, and unleashed it on Kratins Boo: he was momentarily stunned by the blow but soon recovered and threw 4 grenades into the air which caused spherical explosions: Omega dodged those and then pulled out one of the shrapnel fragments which he threw at Kratins' Boo gun getting stuck on the right side close to the muzzle: he did the same with the others but Kratins Boo dodged them all: he suddenly jumped into the air and aimed the gun at the ground vertically while shooting a powerful beam: about 30 missiles formed in the air and began to rain down into the ground in 3 groups of 10: 5 per each side: the continuous explosions momentarily kept Omega stopped and then Kratins Boo landed back on the ground: he ran forward and shot the knife from the gun: it stabbed Omega's chest and he growled but remained on his feet: Kratins Boo chuckled and the knife suddenly began to frizzle with electricity.

"Gr… Gruwa~h!" Omega hissed.

"Heh, heh, heh. You underestimated me!"

"Then I'll be your opponent."

"That voice…! Sigaano Nogaano…! You damned double-crossing mice!"

"Charmed."

Tabuu suddenly showed up behind Kratins Boo and he seemed to lose all confidence all of a sudden: Taboo formed two golden-colored blades over his hands.

"Cosmo Blade!"

He swung the swords and caused two cuts on Kratins Boo's body: he grumbled and loaded his gun before shooting the 30 missiles at him: they exploded upon impact but didn't even leave a mark behind: Tabuu then formed a golden string of energy and coiled it around Kratins Boo's gun to pull it away from his hands and toss it some meters behind him: Kratins Boo formed an RPG-7 and shot it at Tabuu from close-quarters: he got damaged by the explosion yet Tabuu was unharmed to begin with: Kratins Boo cursed in a foreign idiom.

"So?" Tabuu dully asked.

"That's not fair!"

"You're one to talk. You're a survivor of a military dictatorship. You're in no condition to talk about "fair"."

"Sheesh! I won't go down so easily this time around! Eat flamethrower: and burn up!"

He formed a flamethrower next and bathed Tabuu in flames but he was unfazed to begin with: he used the string to pull the weapon off him and toss it around: Kratins Boo then gasped and turned around but was too late to avoid being stabbed by his knife (Omega had managed to take it off him): he groaned and stepped back but managed to form a machinegun and began to shoot it at Omega: he got hit by several of the rounds yet his blade began to turn crimson: Kratins Boo seemed to realize too late what that meant.

"Muramasa Blade~!"

"GRUOH!"

Omega swung the blade and formed a crimson slice of energy that impacted Kratins Boo's waist and destroyed most of his armor: he stepped back and then managed to jump some meters away to pick his gun to then escape by dropping off the edge and into a "portal" that was already open mid-air: Omega fumed while Tabuu grumbled.

"Omega. Pull out. You need some repairs." Vadous ordered.

"Fine."

"By the way, _aibou_ … Who exactly is proving those tip-offs? They're accurate, true, yet Virus always manages to slip away… Are you sure it isn't Virus himself who's toying with us?"

"Hmmm… I'd thought of that possibility yet… Something makes me think that's not the case." Vadous argued back.

"Do we have a name?" Tabuu asked.

"Eclipse's the name. It'd seem it's some hacker that's been around for a couple of years already but hasn't been too active. No – one knows what they seek or where they are."

"Hum. I see. So the timeline doesn't match… Or it does? We don't know when Virus began preparations for his plot."

"Yeah… But until we figure out more about that "Eclipse" then we won't get anywhere…"

"Hum. Fine. I'll go talk with Obihiro and "Zeta" to see if they've figured anything out. You take care of Omega's repairs."

"Alright. Leave it to me."

" _Shachou_ ~! It's time to call for a jack of all trades!" Omega's voice rang out in the background but he'd turned cherry all of a sudden.

"Guess my safety protocols came in to avoid him getting obsessed over how the battle didn't go that well… I can bear with this. Better than his vain prideful mode." He muttered.

"Better indeed! Later."

"Let's go hunt for mushrooms to power-up! _It's me, Mario_!"

17:17 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So, Serenade… Nothing?"

"They were about to catch him today as well but we had the bad luck that the place he was got assaulted by the police: during the ensuing gunfight Virus slipped away…"

"Talk about bad luck…"

"I suppose nothing odd has happened here, Mamoru."

"No. Nothing."

"Good."

"Hey, don't worry! I'm keeping my sense sharp. Urakawa Mamoru here is careful!"

Serenade was talking over a PET to a young guy who was sitting in a chair inside of a room somewhere and working with a PC.

Urakawa Mamoru had messy brownish hair and brown eye irises: he could be about Obihiro's age.

He simply wore a _yukata_ and sandals.

"Hum. Alright. But I will keep a watch around the perimeter. Don't forget that last month Virus Daemon attempted to kidnap you."

"I know." Urakata sighed.

"I will go contrast results. Will be right back. Yamato Man and Dark Man will keep an eye on the perimeter for any odd signatures. I will be right back. Later, Mamoru."

"OK! Time for a dip."

Urakata smiled and headed to the ground floor to then enter a room having the typical benches and showers to cleanse before entering the _onsen_ : he'd already taken off the _yukata_ and left it on the locker along with the sandals and only had the waist towel: he showered and cleansed with soap and body gel before exiting into the outdoors _onsen_ : some customers were there already and he simply stepped in until shoulder-height: he placed himself towards the southern edge near the rock formation and looked around: Eisei was standing to his left.

"Yo. _Danna_. Nice _onsen_ , eh?" Eisei commented.

"Huh? Ah… Yeah." He timidly replied.

"What? There's no need to feel ashamed, man."

"Hum… Guess that…"

"Did ya know?"

"What?"

"They say Gen 6 will be next year…!"

"Could be…" Urakawa looked interested.

"And they say the main PKMN will represent "life" and "death"… Sounds like it'll be interesting… Too bad we'll have to wait some months yet to get official confirmation…"

"Yeah. But well. One can always pick some game to bust the time and wait for that moment to come."

"Sure. Like the Adventures of Mr. Someone and No-one."

"HUH?"

"Kidding, _Danna_."

"Huff. Talk about funny." Urakawa sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Heh, heh. Maybe you need to ask Mario to lend you his Cap of Mightiness?"

"Huh? Oh come on. You think you're funny?"

"Nope. I'm random and crazy, _Danna_. By the way… Did ya know? Mr. Smiles is coming to town."

"Isn't that a parody of "Santa Claus is coming to town"?"

"Bravo, _Danna_. You're a _connoisseur_!"

"Huh? I dunno what that is."

"Did ya hear?"

"What next?"

"I'm sneaky." He chuckled.

"Doesn't surprise me."

"Heh, heh. Chut!"

Eisei suddenly did something and Urakawa inwardly gasped: he gulped and tried to avoid opening the mouth: none of the other customers realized anything and Eisei grinned.

"Good." He whispered to Urakawa.

"Y-y-you…!" Urakawa nervously uttered in a rush.

"Yeah… I appreciate guys like ya…"

"G-got nothing against that, but…! This is a public place…!"

"Which makes it more thrilling….!" He whispered back.

"Please! I've got nothing against it… If you want to, eh, well, come to my room later…!"

"Fine… Thanks for the kindness, _Danna_ … I'll show ya how to properly use this thing here… Where's the room?"

"2nd floor, end of the corridor… Left side… That's my bedroom… Better there…" He blushed as he whispered.

"Thanks, _Danna_. No need for names! You're the _Danna_. I'm just the "Foreigner"…"

"The _ihou no mono_? You sure use an old-fashioned wording."

"Heh! Picked it from some game." He admitted.

"A-alright… B-but…"

"Relax… I'll simply make you feel good but won't go beyond using my fingers… That's all…" He assured Urakawa.

"F-fine…"

Urakawa quickly and discreetly moved some distance away: Eisei did the same and both pretended nothing had happened: Eisei left after another couple minutes while Urakawa seemed to be doubting: he sighed and also came out.

 _When he touched me… It felt like never before… Oh well… Maybe it's worth a try… As long as he doesn't go too far…_

Urakawa put on the _yukata_ and sandals again after he'd dried and headed back to the 2nd floor into his bedroom: Eisei was sitting on the NE corner while wearing a _yukata_ : Urakawa made sure to lower the blinder and timidly took off the _yukata_ : Eisei grinned and calmly examined his body: Urakawa blushed and looked elsewhere: Eisei then began to rub his nipples and Urakawa barely held back a moan: Eisei then began to softly rub his balls and Urakawa let out a soft moan: he lowered the cock's foreskin and began to rub the head: Urakawa was constantly gulping trying to hold back his moans.

"Heh. You're sensitive, _Danna_ … And something tells me you haven't played with yourself that often… You should: it's useful to take off stress and to feel good!"

"G-guess that…!" He muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'll show you how it's done. Here: close your right hand around your cock… And rub it… Soon you'll stop thinking and automatically do it…"

He picked Urakawa's right hand and closed it around his cock to have him rub it: Urakawa began to do so and kept his mouth closed to avoid making noise: he eventually released and collapsed on his knees: he panted and slowly opened his eyes to see his release slowly sliding out: Eisei handed him a handkerchief and he used it to wipe it off: Eisei chuckled and headed for the door.

"Sorry but it's my time to leave. Thanks for the fun, _Danna_. I'm sure you can handle the rest yourself. Maybe we'll meet again someday. Until then… Exploit your potential!"

"T-thanks…" Urakawa timidly replied.

He blushed and put on the _yukata_ again before returning to his room and sitting down in front of the computer: he sighed.

"What the heck did I do…? How did I get to agree with that…? I'm getting reckless… But… I felt so good…"

"Is something the matter? Mamoru?" Serenade was back.

"Wah! Nothing! I was absent-minded: the _onsen_ was a bit too hot today, even." He improvised.

"Ah. If that's just it."

"Y-yeah. So… Did anything surface?"

"Nothing. Eisei has not been spotted today either."

"Eisei?"

"Virus' accomplice… Did you forget? Here's a photo."

"E~H?"

Urakawa gasped when he saw a photo of Eisei that Serenade displayed: he turned white and his jaw was open: Serenade gasped.

"Mamoru! Are you alright? Do I need to call a medic?"

"N-no… It's just that… That person was in the _onsen_ right now! Next to me! And I just saw him checking out!"

"What! Did he say anything to the receptionist?"

"No… Looks like he'd paid beforehand in cash so…"

"We had him right here and slipped away…! As usual…! We must increase security: it might be a sign!"

"That Virus is coming for me?" Urakawa realized.

"Could be. Yet he did not target others whom Eisei visited."

"Wouldn't that be because he already did so before?"

"Hum. You have a point. I am sorry for panicking you but…"

"Can't be helped. Reality is reality." Urakawa sighed.

"Yes. Sadly enough."

"Oh well. Let's try to find some clue: I'll ask the receptionist about if he mentioned something odd." Urakawa stood up.

"Good. But I would not expect too much info from there. He surely only paid and stayed and checked out. He surely is not stupid: he must be miles away by now and could have gone anywhere through the train or a taxi."

"I see… Well. I'll go ask the receptionist."

 _And to think I allowed him to tease me…! How stupid of me!_

22:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hi there, our dear audience! We're back for another training session of these 2 excellent guys. Today we're going to train them into fucking poses… Our choice of pose for today is… Sitting! You know what it means, no? Our audience!"

Eisei was speaking to the cameras while Enzan (wearing the cap, the shades and the handkerchief to hide his identity) quietly stood at his left: both prisoners were hanging on the air suspended by a hook attached to their ropes and they had the bags over their heads to hide who they were: both Eisei and Enzan were holding the chains.

"We're gonna sit on those plain chairs and then drop them atop our awaiting cocks… Have them ride along their length… And then we'll drop them on the ground and have them suck our cocks up… So let's get started ASAP! Heh, heh!"

He and Enzan sat down in a couple of plain wooden chairs and hardened their cocks as they lowered Delta (above Eisei) and Rafael (above Enzan): they had them lower until they reached the base of their cocks: they then stuffed anal beads into their asses before turning on the nipple dildos: they grabbed their sides and began to move them up and down their cocks: today they'd spread their legs open through that metal bar on their ankles.

"See? They're getting used to the pace! They're making progress in become true masochists! They need some intense training… And some intense plays…" Eisei told the cameras.

 _Let's keep an eye out for Ijuuin… The guy's been pretty quiet today but the guy could be thinking of something desperate… I better check the restrains and ropes once we're finished to make sure he's not planning on loosening one of them so they can free each other later… Too bad, Ijuuin! But I'm not a mere grunt. I can think!_ Eisei inwardly though as he briefly glanced at Enzan: his glare portrayed mistrust.

"See how they love having their nipples teased!" Eisei said aloud.

He began to twist the clothes pegs clockwise: Delta shuddered and his cock hardened further: Eisei snickered and began to slowly lick the base of his neck to further tease him: he stopped twisting them and chuckled.

"See? The guy feels like never before! This guy will soon become the ideal masochist who'll love getting fucked!"

He glanced at Enzan but insofar he didn't seem to be doing anything suspicious: his hands were still gripping Rafael's body sides and he hadn't changed positions either.

 _I can later check the video to see if there was a moment in which he could've done something to the ropes or the restrains… Desperate gambles are no more than that: desperate gambles._

"We're about to fill up these guys' awaiting asses… They'll then get a neat dildo as prize… While they suck up our cocks and remember their place: that the only thing they can do is to suck cocks! That's the only action a slave is allowed to do: and if they don't properly do it… Punishment! The cat-o'-nine-tails! Excellent to remind _amateurs_ what pain is about: absolute pain!"

He and Enzan released and filled up their asses: they let the stuff slide down their cocks as if to lubricate them before they pulled the chains to lift them up and suspend them in the air: both drew a dildo they had ready on the right pocket and stuffed it on the prisoners' asses: they proceeded to lower them into the ground but, before that, they bent their legs and tied them with a set of two black leather restrains which had half-rings emerging from the sides: they connected those using padlocks and thus totally immobilized their legs: they had them sit on the ground on their knees.

"See? Padlocks are very useful: to make sure they don't run away. Not like they would but depriving them of mobility is a good reminder that they're just that: slaves! Slaves are to be kept in check! And this is the way to! Now: let's see if they've really learnt their place by now or not. Are you ready, our public?" Eisei asked the imaginary public.

 _I must check on how Ijuuin applied the padlocks as well. Maybe he's actually placed a rubber tube colored like the padlock's metal to make it look like it's locked when it actually isn't. I know that trick as well: I've done my research, Ijuuin! But whatever. Even if they managed to free each other… Their strength is locked down by a 36-digit alphanumeric password which only I know! They might be Navis but their processing power isn't that high: it'd take quite some times to process all possible combinations!_

"Alright! Let's go for it! Suck it up! There: move your head! Prove that you can do some decent blowjobs! You piece of meat!"

Eisei placed his cock right in front of Delta's forcibly opened mouth: Delta stretched his head forward and took it in: Eisei grinned and pulled a chain which he'd attached to the front of the collar: his cock went deeper inside Delta's throat and he began to move and suck it without Eisei setting the pace: he glanced at Enzan and he was doing the same and wasn't doing anything suspicious.

 _Maybe I should try to fuel Ijuuin's lust… Maybe by saying that if he cooperates I'll bring Hikari Junior and let him handle the taming of the guy… I know that the guy inwardly wishes to have more stuff with Hikari because he's annoyed that his old man wanted to keep Hikari for his own old and dull hide. The_ Danna _told me how Ijuuin's old man desperately tried to assault his hideout and claim Junior for himself… But Ijuuin here had the guy arrested… One headache less! The_ Danna _was getting fed up with that idiot._ Eisei inwardly thought: he was serious.

"See? Heh! The guy's really becoming a neat slave… Will soon be eager to suck the customers' cocks one after the other… While a couple of customers fuck the guy's ass in the meanwhile… But that might take some time yet. Sorry if I hyped ya, my audience. They need a bit more training but don't worry… One day, there'll be a real orgy!"

 _That should make Ijuuin fret… Maybe that'll make him rush it all and make another bold move like yesterday… Heh. If he doesn't behave then I'll punish the guy in a way that he'll dearly regret it… Let's wait a bit, though, and let him building confidence… The_ Danna _says it's better to play along to make them lower the guard. Behave just like they expect you to. And then swiftly counter them. The_ Danna _knows what he says! Speaking of which… I wonder why he's always moving up and down there… And having so many deals… Is he aiming to do something? Hmmm… I don't think he'll bring out that robot thing he used before… Maybe it's something else? Oh well. I'll eventually know. I don't have to butt my nose there._

"Alright! Suck it up! All of it!"

He pulled the chain again just as he released and filled up Delta's throat and mouth: he chuckled as he stepped over Delta's cock with the right foot and he apparently inwardly groaned.

"Let's see them faint!" He announced.

He pulled his cock out and then lowered to his knees to grip his balls with the right hand and rub the cock with the left hand: he snickered and pulled out the urethra vibrator to allow him to release: Enzan did the same and both victims soon fainted: Eisei quickly glanced at Enzan but he was standing still behind Rafael.

"I'll take care of cleansing up. You go to the bathroom and cleanse the belt before I lock it up again." He ordered.

Enzan silently obeyed and did so: Eisei silently walked towards the bathroom door and turned the key which he took out.

"And for safety… I've locked you here. You won't come out until I'm done so make sure to properly unload. You know I won't unlock the belt again until the morning." He told him.

Enzan didn't reply so he shrugged and checked on Rafael: the legs' padlocks weren't locked and the two padlocks keeping his arms tightly secured had been released so Rafael could get free: Eisei snickered and properly locked them again before carrying each one into the cell: he placed them side to side and connected their collars with the chain: he put two slabs so that the distance between each other was shorter and they were actually glued together: he exited the brig and locked the door with the key which he stored.

 _Fine. Ijuuin must've realized that I've figured about his "sabotage" and must be trembling: maybe he'll try to attack me as soon as I come out. But let's pretend I saw nothing._

"You done, Ijuuin? I'm opening the door."

He unlocked the door and pulled it open to then hide behind it: Enzan calmly walked out while having taken out the stuff to hide his face: he looked dull and unimpressed: he began looking around and Eisei spotted that he was sweating: he soon began to get nervous and assumed a combat stance: he rushed for the brig door and tried to pull it open but was unable to.

"Shit!" He cursed aloud.

He growled under his breath and punched the door with his right fist.

"Hang in there, guys…! I swear I'm going to get you out! Somehow! So hang in there…!" He whispered.

 _I knew it. The guy's getting desperate. Heh._

Eisei silently came out of hiding and unlocked the control center room: he stepped inside the corridor and locked the door before Enzan could react: Eisei then sat down on the chair in front of the PC and brought up imagery of the brig: Delta and Rafael had their heads facing each other but were obviously unable to speak.

"I disabled their radio too so they can't call to each other through radio either. Heh. You think that getting "hopeful" will get you out of there? How _naïve_. I guess their pals didn't tell them the truth of what they felt when they were in _Danna_ 's hideout. The despair that haunted them, the lack of energies, the defeatism…"

He switched to the main room and spotted Enzan nervously pacing around the room and sweating: he was obviously excited.

"Why did he did say nothing? It's a trap? To make me get confident? To think I'm getting away with it? Shit. I thought the guy only had sex on the head but seems like it ain't the case!"

"Only sex in the head, Ijuuin? Hah! I have plans on my head: I'm not an idiot. You'll regret underestimating me."

"Is the guy looking, then? Hidden cameras?" He began to nervously glance around the room.

"Bingo. You're slow to catch on. And you won't find them so easily. They're miniature models and the _Danna_ made sure to camouflage them in discrete spots.The _Danna_ set this place up as a backup. And it's useful, truly. Well. Ijuuin is not a problem. Problem is… That "Eclipse"… Who the hell is it? I don't think the _Danna_ would bother to play tag with those guys… Nah. He wouldn't waste his energies and resources like that. Someone intends to psychologically corner the _Danna_ and set fear on his hide… Hmmm… This needs more research." He muttered, concerned.

He switched off the feed and drank some apple juice as he ate some potato chips in the meanwhile

 _Heh. "Eclipse"… Ya will regret challenging the_ Danna _… That I promise you!_


	8. Chapter 8: Sword VS Fist

**Chapter 8: Sword VS Fist**

10:44 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday August the 10th…

"… Blues – sama."

"What is it?"

"The President…"

"I already stated it: Enzan – sama is ill. He needed some days of rest. Medic's orders. And out of safety reasons I can't tell him where Enzan – sama is. What is it? Can't IPC work without Enzan – sama? The Board of Executives did appoint that person as Mr. President because they saw him ready to spearhead IPC. No?"

"Y-yes, sir! Actually, sir… It wasn't about that, sir."

"Ah. Then I should've listened to you. So? What is it?"

"We got a threat email…"

"Hum. Who sends it?"

"Says "Titan"… The text is "My fists will reduce you to DUST!"… Yet I've got the feeling it's actually addressed to Blues – sama."

"Fists? Virus' proxies didn't fight. Hmmm… The Z – Militia?"

A Normal Navi colored brown and green had come to speak with Blues inside of Enzan's PC at the IPC VP Office: Blues had been engrossed with some job given some screens displaying code and graphs into them and quickly cut the Navi as he began to speak: the Navi then explained why he'd come and Blues calmly rubbed his chin with the right hand.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Huh? Intruder? How did they get here without triggering alarms?"

"I've got my means… Because I'm a Military Navi…!"

"Hmpf. I see. Military access codes which override normal security codes: that's your trick."

"Indeed! We'll now see if you're as good as they say, Blues!"

"You lowlife… I've heard of you. High – Max: the Navi of the "Devil Syndicate" Leader… Dr. Murker Raher."

"Master Caesar!"

"Like I care. Bring it on."

High – Max had intruded the system and Blues calmly drew his Long Blade which he brought up to protect from any possible attack: High – Max suddenly dashed forward and loaded up energy on both fists and headed for Blues: he jumped into the air and formed a Neo Variable Sword next to shoot some Sonic Booms at High – Max yet they bounced off a barrier: Blues landed behind High – Max and he quickly turned around to charge at Blues again and Blues stepped sideways to dodge: High – Max suddenly hit the floor with his fists and several cracks began to form on it: the ground rumbled, fissures opened and flames surged out from them thus creating a complicated pattern of crisscrossing flames: Blues didn't lose his cool and calmly jumped for High – Max who formed those circles which generated the body barrier: Blues began to swing the sword and managed to shatter it: High – Max gasped but didn't have to react before Blues landed on the ground and quickly cut with the blade to inflict some wounds on his legs: he put some distance as High – Max stopped hovering and landed on the ground with force causing a shockwave: High – Max glanced at his wounds and then at Blues' sword.

"You lowlife… Hi-frequency blade?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Whatever. Death Ball!"

High – Max formed the energy spheroid and tossed it at Blues: he jumped to dodge and then spotted that the spheroid was returning for him from behind: he smirked and skid through the gap in High – Max's open legs: the spheroid impacted High – Max and exploded thus momentarily stunning him: Blues jumped into the air and began to swing the blade like mad to inflict wounds on the back: High – Max turned faster than expected and delivered a blow to Blues: it sent him flying across the air but he recovered, flipped, and landed on the ground: High – Max was flying towards him so Blues shot several "Sonic Boom" in all directions to keep him busy dodging or blocking those: Blues inputted some commands into the blade using a virtual keyboard: the blade glowed and Blues shot four powerful slashes colored red, green, blue and yellow at High – Max: they met their mark in different spots of his body and he growled.

"That blade can act like a Program Advance!" He grumbled.

"Indeed. It's a jack of all trades."

"Hmpf! Like that'll save you, you damned red mice."

"Charmed."

"Hah! Eat these!"

High – Max suddenly spawned some missiles and made them fly towards Blues: he dodged by jumping into the air and quickly formed a tornado around him to make the returning missiles fly away from him in several directions: he jumped atop one and headed for High – Max who'd formed the shield again: Blues swung the blade and shot his "Sonic Boom" attacks which inflicted some damage to the shield: he crouched and jumped into the air as the missile was about to impact the barrier: it did so and shattered it so Blues quickly inflicted some cuts on the chest armor but didn't get too far because it was extremely thick: Blues wasn't taken aback by that either and he got back to the ground yet he was forced to jump to dodge the shockwave caused by High – Max landing there.

"My armor is too thick for you to cut through it!" He growled.

"I wonder about that. Maybe it's placebo instead and it's weaker than it appeals?" He taunted back.

"No way!" He gasped.

"Magma Seed!"

"What! Ugroh!"

Blues tossed the Magma Seed at the enemy's feet and he sunk in the shallow magma pool that formed: Blues then formed the Tornado Battle Chip and shot it at the pool: the magma began to spiral into the sky and land across High – Max's body thus melting part of the armor there and there: Blues quickly formed the Long Blade again and jumped into High – Max's chest to plunge the blade yet he fell short of meeting the core: High Max suddenly gripped him with the right fist and began to squeeze: Blues grumbled.

"I disabled Area Steal! I'LL CRUSH YOU INTO DUST!"

"Fire!" A voice rang out.

"Huh? What! Ugrah!"

A rifle bullet penetrated through the wound Blues had inflicted and cut through his core to emerge from behind and stab the ground: he let go of Blues as he clutched his chest with the right hand and panted: Blues looked some meters behind him and formed a grin, for once, as he ducked: another shot rang out and another bullet (a different one) flew across the air before hitting High – Max's forehead and getting stuck there: his body began to move slower and he was struggling to keep his balance in the air: Blues jumped into the air and delivered another stab which hit the core: High – Max roared and suddenly formed a Salamander Battle Chip: Blues quickly jumped off before he could catch fire and High – Max jumped into the air to then crash back into the ground, destroying part of it and causing a shockwave: Blues burrowed a hole and sunk inside to hide from the shockwave as it passed through the air: High – Max panted and tried to get back to his feet since he'd collapsed on his fours and looked like he was out of forces.

"This ammunition…! I know it…! Sharo ammunition…! Search Man! You lowlife! Show your hide!"

"A sniper never reveals his position." Search Man's dull voice rang out through his and Blues' radios.

"Hmpf… That bullet is a gift to you: it'll slow down your bodily processes for 15 minutes." Laika's voice rang out next: Blues could picture him smirking.

"Damn them all!"

"Sheesh." Another voice rang out.

"Virus. About time you bastard showed up." Blues taunted.

"Hmpf!"

A "Promethean Knight" warped into the area but was different because it'd been recolored into golden and silver instead of the orange and brown combination they usually had: it drew two Long Blades and dashed for Blues at a fast speed: Blues also drew another Long Blade and they began to clash: Blues began to yield terrain but the enemy quickly began to hover as if it feared there was something on the ground: Blues merely kept on yielding terrain but the enemy stepped back.

"What happened? Did you chicken out?" He taunted.

"Hmpf! There's a trap. Else you wouldn't yield terrain."

"So you know how to use your brain's gray cells, huh?"

"Sheesh. As if I wasn't busy enough!"

"Busybody." Blues smirked.

"Nya~h!"

"Cat complex?"

"Whatever the fucking ever!"

"Out of my way…! I'll crush them… myself…!" High – Max had managed to get to his feet somehow but his balance was erratic.

"You're a burden, Goliath! Step asides!"

"Don't put me on the same boat as that barbarian!"

"Like I care. You're but a pawn, a distraction! Else I wouldn't have bothered to get you out of the Navi Prison." Virus fumed.

The ground beneath his proxy suddenly exploded and the enemy flipped into the air to then land face-up: Blues quickly jumped atop him and stabbed the chest with both Long Blades: High – Max growled as another rifle bullet shot through his body and his core began to leak data: his balance was precarious by now and he ended up collapsing face-up atop the "Promethean Knight" (Blues had seen it coming so he'd dodged): the enemy got crushed by the weight and deleted while High – Max uselessly waved his arms and legs trying to get up again.

"Damned barbarians…! I'll be back…!"

He formed a "portal" into the ground and sunk inside before vanishing: Blues sighed in relief and Search Man turned visible right next to him: Laika had his Operator window opened too.

"I owe you one."

"Don't mind it. It was a mission." Search Man replied.

"Those fools needed a reminder of whom they're dealing with."

"Totally. Enzan – sama… Please be strong, sir!"

11:09 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well, Beta?"

"I haven't found much either. I cornered some grunts but they only admitted that they though Virus had died."

"Huff."

"Sorry, Akashi – kun."

"Don't mind it, Zarashe… You're doing what you can. And it's no surprise it's being this hard… Remember how much effort it took to rescue us last month…"

"Yeah, I know…"

Beta X had come to report to Zarashe and Akashi as they were in the beach: Akashi was clearly depressed and Zarashe looked sad that he couldn't do anything to help him.

"I guess Noa must be the one suffering the most. With his father away for most of the day and having no – one to talk with… I guess he's been calling the others to try to have someone to talk to…" Akashi sighed.

"Yeah… Damn it, Virus! I'm so eager to toss the guy into a brig and have him rot there forever."

"Wouldn't we all like that?" Akashi sighed.

"It's too early to give it up. You said it yourself: it took time and effort to locate you guys last month. So maybe if put some more effort into it then we can get somewhere. At least we know where Virus is during every day and his movements." Beta X tried to encourage.

"I'm starting to grow mistrustful of that info… Maybe Virus is leaking it on purpose to play tag with us. They always seem to lack some detail or specific piece of info that allows Virus to slip away through some way or another because we didn't account for that one. Or at least that's what Saito was telling me the other day on a mail…"

"Now that you mention it… It could be, yeah. Maybe we've been too eager to take in this info without considering all possibilities first."

"Yeah. "Eclipse" and Virus could be the same person to begin with."

"Hmmm? Speak of the devil: a mail from that "Eclipse"…"

"What does it say?"

"Huh? Odd."

"What's odd?"

"It's not about Virus' location but some episode of his past…"

"Huh?" Both wondered.

"It says… "Virus began smoking at 14, by 16 he was a heavy smoker but was forced to quit at 19. Reason? Smoking was banned aboard the "Palace"."…" Beta X read.

"No way Virus would bother to reveal that… Or would he? I don't see him as the type to brag about that. Or maybe he's so desperate that he's throwing this out to make us think "Eclipse" is someone else?" Zarashe wondered.

"Could be. A desperate attempt. Maybe he's realized we're starting to catch up, after all."

"Yet… Obihiro – kun said that "Eclipse" was first heard of about 2 years ago… Virus wasn't active at the time… Or maybe he was and he was preparing to make a move back then?"

"That's a possibility, too… We have no proof that says that Virus and Eclipse aren't the same anyway."

"But then again… Why is Virus constantly moving from place to place? One would think he'd stay quiet at his hideout along with that Eisei guy. Like last month." Beta X brought up.

"It's gotta be a way to keep all the attention on him while Eisei can move around unnoticed… And maybe it's a way to test Eisei's loyalty… To see if he'll really do what Virus orders him without him being there." Akashi suggested.

"That makes sense."

"I've got the feeling, though, that Virus is aiming for something else… Maybe he's planning for some kind of distraction involving the underground? Like a gunfight or a robbery or abductions?"

"That could be part of the rascal's plans too. Why don't you forward those suggestions to the "Committee" gentlemen? They could start investigating if there are any hints of that." Zarashe told Beta X.

"I'm on it. Hum. Another mail… From Omega. I'm going to check with Mr. Zataki…"

"Do so."

"Hello? Mr. Zataki? It's me, Beta X."

"What's up?" Vadous asked.

"Did Omega dispatch a mail?"

"Yeah. I ordered him to."

"By the way… Was Mr. Dragon from Beijing?" Beta X suddenly asked.

"No. He's from Shanghai."

"Code: verified. Sorry for doubting."

"Can't be helped, Beta X. Virus could be pretending to be one of us to begin with. He pulled a similar trick when I was chasing him overseas too…" Vadous grumbled.

"By the way: what do you make out of Eclipse's newest "leak"?" Zarashe asked of him.

"Hard to say. It could be a distraction."

"I was thinking the same: a desperate attempt to confuse us." Akashi merely shrugged.

"Obihiro has been trying all over again to figure out the origin of these mails but since they use a cocktail of encryptions systems from various companies and some dating several years ago… It's hard. Because at some point he stumbled upon an outdated one which no longer has a release key because it stopped selling. And even if someone has it they ask a fortune in exchange for it." Vadous sighed.

"I see. But that doesn't prove anything, either."

"No. Virus could've come up with the system during all these years."

"By the way: how old is the guy supposed to be?"

"It may range between 25 and 30… Facial analysis suggests that… Speaking of faces: I've got the hunch that that face isn't his real one. No, it's not a mask… He had plastic surgery: I'm convinced of it. Yet I don't have any proof to demonstrate that either."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he tried to appeal as "handsome". Maybe his original face was boring." Zarashe muttered.

"That could've been an order by Maria too… I tried to interrogate her but she wouldn't reply. And I couldn't do much more, anyway. So I've got to speculate. I've tried searching the files I stole from the "Palace" and Virus' name is on it. Says he was recruited about 8 years ago. By 2004. But it doesn't say how old the guy was back then."

"I'm surprised he's stuck around so long. I thought he'd been in those "Common Patterns" where he met Keitai Denwa and Alive Cell." Akashi was slightly surprised.

"Oh yeah. He was! Maria sent him there to spy on them for about of a couple of years. But I've got no timeframe for that."

"Do you think the idea I forwarded makes sense?" Beta X asked.

"It does. It would explain things. The police have noticed an increase in smuggling of materials and electronic components from Choina, Taiwan, Hong – Kong and Sharo. Maybe he plans on building some weapon with those. Like he did overseas: he was planning of building a new kind of rail-gun and sell it to terrorists."

"Rail-gun… Like the one Fortune and Crying Wolf used?"

"Same one, alright. The guy's into _MGS_ too."

"No wonder!"

"And let's hope he doesn't spoil _HALO 4_. I don't want to know the end before I get to play it myself!" Vadous grumbled.

"Hasn't he done already?" Zarashe frowned.

"No. The "Promethean Knights" were shown a couple months ago in the E3 fair. They were in the demo. So that's no spoiler because it's an official reveal." Vadous explained.

"Ah! So that's it."

"Well! Gaming asides… Yeah. Omega is investigating Takamatsu because the local police say that they arrested a politician who was buying drugs in secret and it'd seem Virus was his supplier..." Vadous got back to the main topic.

"I see. So maybe he knows something."

"I doubt the man knowing too much but anything will do at this stage. How is it like, Omega?"

"I got there, Boss. I'm about to walk into the police station. I've got the authorization by Commissioner Kifune of the Net Police so they should tell me without protest."

"Fine."

"Good morning. My name's Omega and I bring an authorization by Commissioner Kifune of the Net Police. Here you have it: you can ask the Commissioner himself as well." He announced.

"All seems to be in order. What do you need?" A Police Navi asked back.

"The transcript of the interrogation to Akandara Yuutarou. That politician you arrested yesterday because of marijuana possession."

"Alright. I'll go check. Please wait a minute."

"Fine."

"… Here it is."

"… Let's see… Virus was his supplier for the last 4 months. Wore a funky attire… Guess it's the Night Baron disguise… But no more. Named himself "Virus" and that's it. No dice, Boss." Omega reported.

"Thought as much… Oh well. It was worth a try. Come back. And you guys better don't lower the guard. Virus can strike back anytime."

The call ended so the 3 of them sighed in defeat.

"Delta, man… Be strong… Believe in me…" Akashi muttered.

"Akashi – kun… Damn it. I want to help you guys out but…!"

"Don't rush it, Zarashe – kun. Let's be cool and rational here."

 _Delta… Rafael… You can do it: show me you can! I believe in you guys!_

12:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello, Noa – kun."

"Hello, Netto – kun and Saito – kun…"

"Are you properly sleeping?"

"Well… I hate to lie so… No. The solitude haunts me. I hate being alone with no – one I know close by."

"We're sorry we can't be of help."

"I know you're doing all you can."

Netto and Saito were talking with Tomono through Netto's Link PET: he looked like he hadn't properly slept as of late so both sighed: the twins were in a _ryokan_ room with views to the mountains.

"Going back to town by now… Would accent my loneliness." Tomono told them with a sigh.

"Don't you have any cousins or friends close by?"

"No… I don't."

"Have you tried to talk with the others? With Hiro?"

"Of course I did. But it hardly changes anything."

"We're sorry." Both apologized.

"Why do you need to apologize? It's not like you're to blame for any of this… Well… Maybe we all are… For getting confident… And lowering the guard…"

"Can't be helped. We were convinced that Virus had died on that explosion… And the destruction was real, too, so…"

"It really looked like it."

"Heh, heh, heh. Oh the despair!" A voice rang out.

"Who?" They all demanded.

"Hah, hah, hah! I am General Scales!" The voice changed for a more mature one.

"General Scales?" They all wondered.

"Lord Virus' right hand man!"

"… Eisei. You're not fooling us!" Saito grumbled.

"Aw, pity. I was in the mood." Eisei chuckled.

"You lowlife! What have you done to my friend?"

"Don't worry! He's becoming an excellent masochist. He'll beg of you to play with him…" Eisei sneered.

"What about Enzan?"

"Oh, Ijuuin? Here's the guy! Say hi, Ijuuin!"

Enzan suddenly appeared onscreen but his face was devoid of emotions: he merely stared at them without blinking.

"Is that really you, Enzan?" Netto gasped.

"Yeah." He dully replied.

"What's happened to you?" Saito asked.

"Nothing. It's who I really am. A mere automaton. That's what my old man wanted me to be, after all."

"But you had your father arrested! What need is there to keep on obeying his orders?"

"For the sake of IPC."

"What?"

"Unless I prove to be serious and professional then the investors won't trust IPC. So I must prove it and make sure IPC's stock exchange values remain on the rise. It's my number one mission."

"But you're KIDNAPPED! You can't make decisions regarding IPC from where you are!" Tomono argued.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just bringing out my skills."

"Skills? What skills?" Netto frowned.

"You're now going to say you've been a sadist all along and you wanted someone to let you demonstrate that?" Saito skeptically asked.

"Yeah." He simply replied.

"Eisei there is pressuring you!"

"Wrong. I'm the one pressuring the guy."

"You? Pressuring the guy? How? He's in control!"

"Hmpf. Outsiders wouldn't understand."

"What about Delta and Raf?"

"They're my pets."

"E~H?" They gasped in disbelief.

"I tame them."

"Then what's Eisei's role in all of this?" Saito tried asking.

"I'm his pet."

"What? But didn't you say you're a sadist?"

"It's the contract I signed. In exchange for letting me tame those 2 I must be his pet."

"You call that a "contract"?" Tomono was white.

"Go ahead, hate me. Like I care. You've always hated me, no? Hated my social status, my privileges… What I stood for…"

"Hey! You're the one who brought me Papa's "Saito Batch" program and helped me restore Rock Man after Magic Man delivered that fatal blow: I owe you that much!" Netto reminded him.

"Is that so? So what? Will that change the fact that you hate me?"

"You blockhead! If I hated you then I wouldn't have accepted your invitation last winter to go to an _onsen_ so that you could have sex with me!" Netto grumbled.

"You submitted to my pressure. That's all."

"HUH? What nonsense is that, Enzan?" He was getting annoyed.

"Wait, Netto – kun! He's aiming to annoy you!"

"Why?"

"Maybe he wants to try to "prove" you "hate" each other."

"Stop acting, Enzan! You got in that position to try to help Delta and Raf but you've been unable to! So you're frustrated! And try to take it out into us!" Netto called out.

"Bravo, Junior. Miyuki – sama would bow in front of ya." Eisei laughed off-screen.

"I knew it!" Saito fumed.

"So what." He merely replied.

"Say something USEFUL!"

"Like I can. I dunno where I am to begin with. I'm powerless. It's impossible to escape: I've tried it all. So I've merely surrendered. To get rid of any "heroic" pointless suffering. Playing "cool" won't get you out of here."

"I know that! We were closed in that "Palace" thing! But we almost escaped once!"

"You can't try here. The exit won't unlock unless Eisei does it out of his own free will. Biometrics. You can't fool those. And it's not like I'm in a position to rebel." Enzan dully replied.

"And why's that? He's threatening you?"

"Heh! More or less. Ijuuin here knows that unless he obeys I'll turn 'im into a pet for those 2… And he'll be back in the brig." Eisei showed up behind Enzan and caressed his jaw with the right hand.

"I knew it." Netto grumbled.

"It's pointless to track this signal: I've made sure to properly encode it to begin with… And I've hijacked you guys' PETs… You can't make a simultaneous call or use any apps…"

"You coward!" Tomono hissed.

"Heh. Calling me a coward won't change anything either. Don't worry! One of these days… Your pal will show ya the results of our training by asking you to become his Master."

"You bastard…!"

"Yeah… Like that… Tap into the anger and deepen into it…"

"Not _Star Wars_ again…!" Saito groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh. And not even that "Eclipse" rascal will find me: I'm sure of it! The rascal can fool around all he wants!"

"And what if "Eclipse" was Virus to begin with and he's been doing that to play tag with us?"

"Wha?" He gasped.

"Hmpf." Enzan wasn't surprised.

"No way! The other day I barely…! Gah!"

"Ah! So Omega was right: you're spying our actions! And you knew we'd figured out the guy's location so you warned him to scram… But that could be something Virus had intended all along. Tried to use to try to make us think "Eclipse" is a separate human." Saito exposed.

"Grrr! This Holmes wannabe!"

"Charmed."

"Whatever! He who laughs last laughs better! I'll turn those 2 into total addicts… And we'll see if you guys out there can hold back the temptations for much longer… I'm sure you've got the instincts hiding inside of you… Instincts awakened by the _Danna – sama_ 's training… Heh, heh, heh…" He tried to sound scary.

"So what." They all shot back, unimpressed.

"Nya~h! That face! It makes me feel furious! It reminds me of that crybaby! And the way he yelled at me! Damn it all! I'm stronger than that crybaby who depends on others! I don't!"

The transmission suddenly ended and the group fumed.

"The bastard. Trying to turn Enzan into our enemy…!" Netto growled.

"What were we expecting, anyway?" Saito fumed.

"Raf…!" Tomono muttered.

"The guy will make a mistake one day. And expose himself."

"Then we'll catch the bastard. And free our friends."

"You're right… I need to believe in Raf… I believe in you, Raf…!"


	9. Chapter 9: Poking

**Chapter 9: Poking**

08:58 AM (Japan Time), Friday August the 12th…

"… Moon Beam!"

"Heart Slash!"

"Grenade!"

"Hah!"

"Guns!"

"Barrier!"

"Crafty, aren't cha?"

"Sheesh. Out of my way!"

"Not so fast. We've got some chat to do!"

"Who's going to chat with a villain like cha?"

Roll was fighting Moonlight in a small square of the Internet City: she dodged or blocked Moonlight's attacks while Moonlight smirked and Roll was annoyed.

"Why waste your potential?"

"What potential? What would you know?"

"Heh! I know your Operator's an _amateur_ S &M "Queen"… Why don't you do the same and tame those dirty men?"

"I don't need to!"

"They'll dominate you one day!"

"Who knows? Doesn't the same apply for you? That _ecchi_ lil bro of yours?"

"Damn it, Sunlight! I knew it! You've been up to _ecchi_ stuff again! I'll need to discipline you better!"

"So I guess whoever programmed you was a sadistic woman."

"Not your everyday sadistic woman! The daughter of the Grand Leader!"

"So the tyrant's daughter was a sadist, huh? No surprise. Like father, like daughter." Roll wasn't impressed.

"But it'd seem the Mistress didn't properly program Sunlight… It's true that he's 100% loyal to me but he can be somewhat of an idiot from time to time!"

"And that means that… That Kratins Boo was programmed by the tyrant?"

"No. By their second-in-command."

"So why did he obey that General Sentou guy?"

"Hmpf. His programming told him to obey any CO. And our programming told us to obey the CO that the Commander obeyed."

"Oh well. Like I was saying before… I don't need to do so!"

"Hmpf! You'll regret it someday!"

"What. You can see the future?"

"Sheesh."

"Try asking Miyuki – sama."

"Like Hell. That woman has glare that freezes you on the spot: I tried going one day posing as a human and turned away on the spot! I'd never seen such a cold glare before! Like she could burn you there and now and it'd be boring!" Moonlight gasped.

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Anyway! You gotta tame 'em!"

"Yeah. Like I'm that stupid or egoist. I won't become a new Anaya Maria."

"IQ – sama!"

"Why bother? You didn't work for her, anyway."

"She's my idol! A real Queen!" She snickered.

"Can this get any WORSE?" She ironically asked herself.

"It'll get! If you don't do something about it. Pinky."

"Speak for yourself! Moonie."

"KI~H! I HATE THAT NAME~!"

"Charmed. Go start in a screeching contest."

"SCREECHING CONTEST? ME?"

"By the way. It's about to rain angels."

"Angels? SIGAANO! GOTCHA~!"

She whipped around but there was no one: she gasped and looked back at Roll just as a Magma Seed landed on Moonlight's feet and trapped her: she tried to pull out and cursed something in a foreign idiom.

"They'll cast you to voice the monster in some _magical girl_ _anime_. Maybe the sequel to _Cardcaptor Sakura_." Roll smirked.

"T-THIS LIL GIRL!" She cursed.

"Charmed. Now… I've got more important things to take care of. So get out of my way."

"Area Steal!"

"Saw it coming. Tank Cannon!"

"KYAH!"

Moonlight suddenly warped and appeared in front of Roll but she predicted that so she shot the Tank Cannon Battle Chip at her and the blast did send her flying and landing in the floor some meters ahead: Roll let the recoil push her back as she quickly turned on a Barrier Battle Chip and drew a Long Sword: Moonlight got back to her feet and drew a Long Sword as well while rushing for Roll: she looked pretty much if not totally annoyed by now.

"FINE! I'll teach you some lessons about PAIN!"

"The Pain of the Cobra Unit will sue you." Roll taunted.

"Sue me? Cobra Unit? The Pain?" She stopped, surprised.

"I'm sure the guy's watching and is ready to unleash his hornets into you to make you feel PAIN."

"Hornets?" She turned white.

"There."

"There? Where?"

"Gotcha. Hi Cannon!"

"Guah! How dare cha!"

"I dare. I'm not a damsel in distress."

Roll took profit of Moonlight's distraction to shoot a Hi Cannon at her: she got annoyed again.

"You trickster!"

"So what. Will that make your stronger, Moonie?"

"I SAID I HATED THAT NAME!"

"Then go rename yourself as Moonlit."

"MOONLIT? OH COME ON! IT'S SILLY~!"

"You hated science?"

"Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"The sun is on the sky far more hours that the moon. So Sunlight is actually gloating he's got more screen time than ya." Roll improvised to annoy her.

"THAT GUY…! HE'S SO GONNA REGRET THAT!"

"Go ahead and scold the guy."

"Not yet! Our business isn't over yet!"

"Ada Wong says it is."

"Ada… Wong? Who the hell? Someone super-woman wannabe?"

"Dunno. Maybe your precious Commander knows her?"

"I'm HIGHLY SKEPTICAL of that." Moonlight fumed.

"Pity."

"HUH? I don't get the point!"

"Thought it was his lover."

"No way! The Commander is above those!"

"Are you sure of it? Maybe he's been doing that in front of your noses and you hadn't noticed to begin with? He must reek of perfume."

"You're ANNOYING me! FOR REAL!"

"Glad to hear that."

"That's it! I'm going to…!"

"Moonlight! Where the hell did you go off? You're AWOL!" Kratins Boo questioned over her radio.

"C-Commander, sir! I was… trying to figure out… where Virus is at!"

"Why do I find that HARD to believe?" He grumbled.

"Of course she isn't. She's just trying to appeal as clever."

"I knew it!"

"C-Commander! It's the enemy, sir! Don't believe them, sir!"

"I don't care! You've done that before! What are you plotting, another of your break-ins and interrogations? I didn't authorize that! Only I can authorize that and I DIDN'T!"

"N-no, sir! I was just… trying to… hum… to… well…"

"To lecture others! Like you're in a position to do so! Your job isn't to lecture others or try to make them have the same _hobbies_ you have! Did you hear me?" Kratins Boo fumed.

"I did, sir!"

"Then come back here ASAP! Before my mood WORSENS!"

"R-roger, sir! You were lucky!" She hissed at Roll.

"I heard that."

"Oh no!" She turned white.

She quickly warped out of the square and Roll fumed: she heard Meiru muttered something under her breath and she was annoyed too.

"Lovely. A sadist who looks up to that Anaya madwoman. At least that Kratins guy should keep her under check! She hurt Hiro – kun and Noa – kun before: I won't let the gal harm anyone else!"

"Of course, Meiru – chan! That gal needs a kick into the jaw!"

"Huff. Let's just tell Mr. Zataki so that he sets up alerts."

"Roger that. Delta, Rafael… Please be strong…!"

13:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well then… Mr. Sponsor. What news do we have apart from the early morning happening?"

"Hum. Another "leak"…"

"What is it this time?"

"It says that Virus will be at Nagoya this evening."

"Nagoya… Must've picked the _shinkansen_."

"Yeah. Because he was jumping from district to district in Oosaka as of late…"

"So? What is he going to do there?"

Colonel Talos was speaking with Vadous over the phone as he was sitting inside of a car parked in a shopping mall's outdoors parking lot: he looked calm and was distractedly tapping the wheel with the left hand's fingers as if to do something in the meanwhile.

"Well. "Eclipse" says he's going to close a deal regarding storing some materials… He wants a secure place and plans on using some connections there to get some hi-level security systems… Whatever he plans on storing it seems to be important… Seems being the keyword." Vadous detailed with obvious mistrust.

"Of course. The whole deal could turn out to be a dead end. We still lack precise info on those materials and components he's been smuggling into the country through different means… What does he hope to achieve with those? Or are they a distraction?" Talos calmly argued back.

"Reeks of it yet… Maybe it isn't at the same time. It's hard to say at this stage with so little info… Huh? Wait a minute… Here's a new message from "Eclipse"… Hum… "Deal will be at 9 PM. Place will be Nagoya's "Oasis 21" shopping mall… On the center area."… Fine. We just need to keep an eye on the spot to see if that deal does happen. But I've got the feeling it won't to begin with." Vadous muttered.

"Let's not waste too much staff there. Let's put a sentry and we can continue the hunt elsewhere."

"Of course, Colonel. We'll do so."

" _Aibou_? Huff. I'm back. I've been searching Oosaka but found nothing about our subject. Not even one of his proxies. Only a rumor that he'd been hosting in an underground medic's office by paying him a good sum to keep him quiet…" Tabuu's voice rang out.

"That's plausible."

"But it's a rumor. No – one can confirm or deny it."

"Aha. Huh? New mail… "Virus never entered high school. Drifted the nation with juvenile gangs and stirred up trouble there and there. By then he'd already coined his current name to avoid being recognized. Changed hair color to impede facial recognition."… Hmmm… Could be another attempt to fool us." Vadous read.

"It sounds like something our subject would do, though." Talos argued while rubbing his chin.

"I don't deny, Colonel, that it sounds realistic. And it's probably true but nevertheless… It hardly changes anything."

"Yes, of course. Not like I was suggesting we should suddenly trust that "Eclipse" figure… Has Mr. Zeta been unable to figure out more?"

"He can figure out about 70% of Eclipse's encoding but as I said before, when it comes to outdated and out of use systems then it's harder because it goes beyond his knowledge. Old and new systems are worlds apart, he told me."

"I see. I don't doubt that he's doing his best. Maybe we should advise him not to overwork."

"Of course. Same applies to me, though." Vadous ironically muttered.

"Now, now." Tabuu tried to calm him down.

"I know!" Vadous sighed.

"Maybe we should find a specialist in those? A veteran programmer? Maybe someone in the NSA? Or in the NRO, where the Chief worked at before?"

"Why didn't I think of that before? I'm such a MORON!"

"Calm down!" Tabuu sighed.

"Well then, I'll ask the Chief if he can make a request. Ameroupe has a reason to be interested in finding Virus too: he did assault the Harvard servers last month ago."

"Yeah. Maybe Commander Barrel and Colonel could contribute. They're not fond of such rascals roaming free, either."

"Of course."

"Boss? I found a proxy here in Nagoya." Omega reported.

"Damn it all. How do you manage to be ahead of me?" Virus' voice echoed through Omega's channel.

"You're the one who wants us to."

"HUH? What nonsense is that?"

"We're not idiots."

"So what!"

"Your lil desperate game is fruitless."

"What lil desperate game?"

"Your "leaks" through "Eclipse"…"

"I'm not that Eclipse bastard! I want the bastard's head! But I can't crack those old encoding systems!" Virus growled back.

"Yeah. Like we'll believe you."

"Fuck it all!"

"Hmpf." Talos smirked.

"So. The hunter got hunted."

"VADOUSSSS!" He growled.

"I'm not deaf. Acolyte." He taunted back.

"ACOLYTE? ME! I'M A SPECIAL AGENT!"

"I guess you stopped being years ago. Anaya's the type to easily forget stuff she's not interested in. Like you. Or me." Vadous taunted.

"No way!" He gasped.

"Way."

"I've known Her Grace longer than you!"

"I wonder about that. Man of a thousand faces."

"What was that?" Virus cursed.

"Maybe something born from your vanity?"

"Hey! Don't copy Big Boss!"

"I copy whoever I feel like it. Go take part in a _kabuki_ play and leave us alone." Vadous taunted next.

"Like I would! Sheesh! I'll have to change my plans! Damn it all. I'm off and this time around I'll figure out that bastard's ID!"

"The proxy's fled. Hmpf. Proxy will be proxy."

"Yes. It was hardly convincing. He could be acting the desperate to begin with." Talos shrugged.

"I'm back. I'm sorry it took so much time. I wasn't feeling too well." Chief Lezareno climbed into the car.

"Ah. Chief. Good. We've thought that we'd need to ask a favor to the NSA or the NRO. It involves outdated old encryption systems. We need someone specialized in those."

"I know one or two who could do it. There was a worry that once criminals found out that new systems were actually easier to decode than old ones they'd switch back to those… But they weren't heeded. Out of arrogance, I guess. Our predictions turned out to be true. One day they'll stop sending emails and use letters again." He wasn't too surprised.

"Good. The sooner we get into it the sooner we can catch our subject: don't you agree?"

"Elementary."

"Let's do it before Virus changes his mind and decides to stop playing with us by sending us the mails. Although… We could always examine the old ones and try to figure out their origin as well…" Vadous muttered.

"If they match the cities Virus has been at then we'd get our confirmation: that "Eclipse" and Virus are the one and the same, that is."

Talos had turned on the car and given the phone to Chief Lezareno as he drove out of the parking lot and into the street.

"Good. We'll be in contact, gentlemen."

"Of course."

Lezareno ended the call: the phone suddenly beeped again and Lezareno answered to it.

"Who is it?"

"Chief Lezareno? It's me, Chief Archer. Of the Sharo Branch."

"Colonel Thunderbolt?" He guessed.

"No! We suffered a bomb-car attack."

"What!" He gasped.

"Fortunately the car went off in the garage when there wasn't anyone down there. The firefighters are putting out the fire."

"I see. Virus' handiwork?"

"Could be. We did get an anonymous email that read "KABOOM" and was signed "The Worm"…" Chief Archer told him.

"Hum. It could be a desperate distraction to make us think we're chasing a fake here in Japan while the real one is in Sharo. He surely hired some proxy to do the job on his stead. Keep your eyes open: and don't take them off Colonel Thunderbolt either!" He warned.

"Acknowledged. I'll keep you informed, Chief Lezareno."

"Of course, Chief Archer. Please be careful."

"Devil. An attack on the Sharo Branch… Another thing we didn't see coming: is it a warning to us as well? Maybe Virus plans on attacking our Japan Branch as well?" Colonel Talos cursed.

"Could be. I'll warn Mr. Admin. Max alert should be issued." Chief Lezareno settled, grumbling under his breath.

"Indeed! We mustn't waste a moment. Contact Ameroupe and let's decipher those damned emails once and for all."

"Yes. I'm on it. But I've got a bad feeling about this…"

18:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hyu~h! No luck, Red."

"Did you properly search, Blizzard?"

"Of course I did!"

"You two… Don't start bickering again."

"Yeah. Else Delta – sama will get annoyed."

"We're sorry!"

"Hey. Guys. I checked Nagoya and found nothing but the scout will remain there nevertheless."

"I see. It better do so: Virus might be thinking he's made us believe he's driven us away from Nagoya but that won't be the case."

The Hunters' Guild members had gathered and Forte joined them to compare results: he told them about the Nagoya topic.

"Huh? There's someone spying us… Cosmo Ring!"

"Uack! Grack!"

"There!"

"Show yourself!"

"Shit. I'm off!"

"Not so fast! Magma Seed!"

"Grah!"

Cosmo Man had detected someone spying on them and flung his Cosmo Ring towards a nearby column's top: it hit an invisible figure and it hit the ground: they tried to run away but Red Sword tossed a Magma Seed and stopped his escape: the figure turned out to be Sunlight.

"Hmpf! You lot again." Forte scoffed.

"I've been authorized! I don't go off on my own like _ane – ue_!"

"So what. Like we care."

"What was that? Grrr!"

"It means that you're WEAK." Forte taunted.

"Weak? Me? Damn you~! Meteors!"

Sunlight formed a rain of meteors but they all dodged and rushed for him: he warped and tried to escape by landing behind them but was met with the mole of "Gospel Jr." which growled and then vomited yellowish flames which paralyzed him on the spot: "Gospel Jr." then swung the tail and the blow sent Sunlight flying until he landed, hard, into the ground: Forte loomed over him.

"I told you."

"That thing's overpowered!"

"Not my problem. You're an _amateur_ who doesn't even look forward when running. One day you'll fall off a cliff."

"Damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU~!"

"Cursing us won't save you either."

"I'm not done yet! Solar Beam!"

"PKMN rip-offs next?"

Sunlight warped and go to his feet to then form a miniature sun and shoot an orange beam of energy at Forte: he merely stepped asides and Red Sword formed a Curse Shield that bounced the attack back at Sunlight: he gasped and barely dodged yet "Gospel Jr." used its thick body armor to bounce it off again: Sunlight cursed and jumped to dodge yet the beam bounced back once again because the Curse Shield was still there: Sunlight turned on jets on his boots and smirked yet "Gospel Jr." changed the angle in which the beam bounced off and hit Sunlight's back leaving a scorching wound there: he collapsed face-down into the ground and groaned as he tried to recover.

"Back in the winter… We made the mistake of trying to tackle you guys when you 3 acted in group… That's why we were having so much trouble… But when you act alone… You prove that you're not THAT strong. Especially you." Forte analyzed.

"Damn it! A man is stronger! Always is!"

"I KNEW IT!" Moonlight hissed over his radio.

"Che! Women! Always poking into others' stuff…!"

"Sunlight…! You're such an idiot." Kratins Boo grumbled.

"B-b-but! Commander, sir!"

"Why can't you focus on battle instead of pointless things?"

"W-well, t-that's…!"

"Whatever. Do something useful!"

"R-roger, sir! Recovery 300! Giga Cannon!"

"Cache PAs? Hah. We know of those too! Sonic Boom!"

Sunlight got back to his feet and shot a Program Advance yet Red Sword's Sonic Boom cut through the blast and sliced the gun in half: it exploded while he dodged the cannon's output: Sunlight hissed and suddenly drew two Elec Swords: he jumped at Blizzard Man but he merely formed a snow ball and kicked it with his right foot: it hit Sunlight and stunned him for an instant: Cloud Man quickly formed a cloud behind Sunlight which shot a thunderbolt at his back: Cosmo Man opened his "Cosmo Gate" and began to bombard the area next: Sunlight groaned and collapsed from the accumulated damage.

"Damn it! I thought you were _amateurs_!"

"Amateurs? Oh come on. You guys' best scientist designed them, you know? Dr. Regal." Red Sword shrugged.

"Shit! I didn't take that into account!"

"Sunlight…! If the Net Police allow them to be active like that it's because they're COMPETENT! UNLIKE YOU!"

"Sir! They're the enemy, sir!"

"Don't switch topics! Why can't you think in a more cool-headed manner?"

"Not like that smug woman is any better!"

"SMUG WOMAN! ME! I'M YOUR _ANEKI_! YOU OWE LOYALTY TO ME! SUCH WAS THE DESIRE OF OUR MAKER!" She yelled back.

"I know that! Not like I would rebel against my maker's absolute orders!"

"You're not proving it." Kratins Boo fumed.

"I'll show it to you lot…! How I wipe you out in one attack!"

"Oh please. Like we'll believe that. Right, guys?"

"Gruh…! Grand Meteor!"

"Huh? Whoa!"

"You fool! I didn't give your permission to use that forbidden move: you're asking for punishment!" Kratins Boo growled.

Sunlight played deaf as he jumped into the air and laughed: a gigantic spheroid about 1 meter tall and surrounded in flames was quickly descending from the skies towards the ground.

"This thing's mass will WIPE YOU OUT! LONG THE CITY!"

"By all the… This guy's programmer watched _Armageddon_ or what? What do we do? We don't have time to evacuate the whole city! And it's still too tall for me to reach even by using "Gospel Jr." as catapult!" Forte cursed as he tried to think of a plan.

"Easy. Leave it to me. Pull away!"

"Huh? Ah! OK!"

"Who the…? Sigaano!"

"Indeed."

Tabuu suddenly appeared a bit higher than the meteor and ordered the others to take cover: he unfolded his wings and ignored Sunlight's Hi Cannon shots at his armor: energy began to fly off the meteor and built up around the borders of his wings: the spheroid lost speed and dully dropped into the ground: it shook the ground with violence when hitting and collapsed on impact yet there wasn't that much damage: Tabuu then made the energy he'd robbed accumulate into a smaller spheroid which shot a concentrated crimson beam at Sunlight as he flew for Tabuu while having drawn a Long Blade: the beam was taller than him and inflicted damage as Sunlight was exposed to it: he roared and collapsed into the ground with violence: he had several burn marks over his body and some of his armor had been deleted while the edges were blackened as if they'd burnt away: he tried to get to his fours but was unable to and collapsed.

"Was that enough of a lesson? If you toy with fire… You get burnt. You should've taken lessons from Fire Man." Tabuu sarcastically taunted Sunlight.

"Gruck… Grah… Krugh…!"

"You had it coming. Imbecile. For using that sans my permit!" Kratins Boo exasperatedly fumed.

He opened the "portal" and retrieved Sunlight while Tabuu landed back on the ground and shrugged: he then spotted a Normal Navi colored crimson and black standing there and seemingly waiting for him.

"You're Sigaano Nogaano, no?" A woman's voice asked through the Navi.

"You're using this as a proxy." He guessed.

"Of course. Name's Eclipse."

"Oh come on. Virus. Acting like a woman won't convince us by now."

"I'm not Virus. I'm chasing Virus. Have been for years."

"Oh yes? Then why is your info wrong from time to time?"

"I want to make him feel fear. To panic him. And I'm not a sadist."

"Hmpf. Hardly believable." Tabuu was hardly impressed.

"I'm serious!"

"Well then. How can you prove that? Some video showing you following Virus? That could be a remotely operated camera set to follow you from behind to begin with." Tabuu sighed.

"Then have a look at THIS." The Navi placed a cube on the ground.

"And this is supposed to convince us?"

"Whatever. Do as you like. But maybe you'll regret it."

The Navi suddenly sprinted off and jumped off the edge before performing a Plug-Out: Tabuu shrugged and picked the cube.

"Let's bring it to _aibou_ 's place and we'll decode it. Maybe we could ask Obihiro and Zeta to check it out as well."

 _Virus, you fool. You can't run away forever. I'll see to it: you'll be caught!_


	10. Chapter 10: Secrets unveiled

**Chapter 10: Secrets unveiled**

08:44 AM (Scotland Time), Saturday August the 13th…

"… Hey, Shun – kun… Decoding finished."

"Alright. Let's check it out."

"Hum. It seems to be a folder full of JPEG images."

"There's no text file? No Word document, no TXT file?"

"Doesn't seem to. For now."

"Fine. The photos are numbered and ordered. Let's investigate them."

"Of course."

Obihiro (dressed in his usual clothes) had been working with his own laptop on Akira's house living room when Akira called out to him after working with his own PC: Obihiro walked over to him and sat down to his right to check it out.

"… What! A birth certificate! "Name: Hioki Ryuuhei. Father: Hioki Ryuuichi. Mother: Hioki Mitsuru. Date of birth: April the 17th, 1984. Weight: 3.75 kg. Height: 49.8 cm. Born at: Takamatsu Shimin Hospital. Address: 2 Chome 36-1 Miyawakicho, Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Phone number: 0081 87-8324-2181. Observations: normal birth. No complications."… Would Virus bother to show to us his own birth certificate? And what's more: giving us his real name?" Akira wondered after reading it.

"No. If he wanted to distract us and make us believe "Eclipse" is someone else he'd use more vague info, things that don't become a clue. But we've got clues here! His real name and the names of his parents." Obihiro replied.

"Which means that… "Eclipse" was never Virus to begin with? It's really someone else? Because… It's Virus. Why would he, on the run, give us his real name? It'd make it easier to trace him, no?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't profit. Unless he was REALLY desperate… But if he was so I think he'd use some other info other than this. What else is there in the folder?"

"Well… Let's check this out… Pre-school graduation diploma and photo!"

"As we could see in the birth certificate… He was born brown-haired and had blue eye irises… So Zataki – san was right: his current face, blonde hair and "golden" eye irises are a camouflage."

"Hum. Elementary school. Seems like he was bad at History, was mediocre at Math, but was excellent at PE instead… He used to get into brawls often… Never seemed to get along with anyone… He skipped the Music classes altogether… Managed somehow at Japanese… And had good grades at English…" Akira read from another set of photos.

"Was the rebellious type, huh?"

"Middle school… Seemed to be very interested in Natural Sciences, had 0 interest in Physics… Kept on loving PE… Joined the swimming classes on the afternoon… Tended to skip some Japanese classes yet… He kept on paying attention when it came to English classes… Also drew good scores at Tech… And kept on getting into brawls…"

"And he started smoking by then if that "leak" of some days ago was true…"

"Now… There's a WANTED notice… He was sought because he ran away from home and never returned… There are some hand-written notes that were later scanned… He picked a couple buddies from middle school and formed a 3-man team named "Bug Squish"… They got into gang brawls there and there… Illegally occupied an empty flat and sabotaged the counters to make it look like nobody lived there… Made neighbors think they were nephews of some rich guy… It says that by then Hioki Junior had coined his current name…"

"So his name dates more than 10 years ago."

"Yeah. Drifted from gang to gang, doing all kinds of jobs for them… They mostly consisted on beating up people to intimidate them and force them to do as they said… Robbed some stores… Broke into some flats… And eventually entered the underground and volunteered as sadist in a small gay club which was part of the "Secret Empire"… His skills quickly became feared across the zone..."

"And that must be why Anaya hired him."

"Yeah. Says that that happened in 2004. Like Zataki – san had figured out indeed. He lived on the "Palace" until 2006…"

"And then infiltrated that org?"

"Yeah. Until summer, 2008."

"What did he do afterwards?"

"Anaya sent him to a big Shinjuku club. And was there for a year until summer 2009. That was more or less about the time Zataki – san dethroned Anaya."

"She was dethroned before I started Gospel?" Obihiro asked.

"A few days before, it'd seem."

"So… What was the guy doing ever since 2009 and until now?"

"The notes says that he vanished off the radar for some periods from time to time…"

"Say! When did he change his face?"

"Oh, that? In 2005. Anaya ordered him to do so in a famed French clinic which only operated VIP and millionaires."

"Aha. So he changed his face 7 years ago."

"What else? Hum. Apparently he prefers Western fast-food over traditional Japanese food. Hates many kinds of fishes but likes octopus and squid. He's been overseas from time to time too. And Anaya had him join a _kendo_ course in a famed academy where he graduated with pretty good scores."

"Of course. Since Anaya ordered him to…"

"Alright. Back to the topic… Hum! Virus was in Taiwan for half a year from late 2009 to mid-2010… Then vanished for a couple months… Returned in late 2010 and stayed in Hong-Kong for about 5 months… Until early 2011… Then was gone for about one month… Returned and stayed in Bangkok next… Until last year's summer… Vanished for about 3 months and emerged once again last winter… Went off the radar by early May and returned in mid-June a few days before he began the kidnappings…"

"How odd. How could he vanish like that? And "Eclipse" somehow could figure out where he'd reappear. Maybe he was always using the "Palace" place to live."

"Maybe it's some biometric system…? Virus could have nanomachines on his body which emit a specific ID signal on a specific frequency… So "Eclipse" waited for a radar or something like that to pick it up. A recently scanned note says "the "Backup Palace" is indeed intact and in HEO but Virus is on the surface, moving around. I hacked there but the interiors were empty. The kidnapped 3 aren't there! So Virus has some other hideout I'm not aware of!"…" Akira quoted.

Obihiro's PET rang and he picked it up: Vadous was onscreen.

"So?"

"Ah! Yes, sir… This info… No matter how we look at it… It doesn't look like a desperate attempt… It's too precise!"

"Really?"

"Akira! Send them a copy!"

"I'm on it. There you have."

"HUH? T-this is…! You're right… This is TOO precise! It gives us solid info, solid threads! And those periods the guy goes "off-radar"… I see." He seemed to have realized something.

"He turns off the nanomachines?"

"Nanomachines normally don't turn off but his ones could be different in the first place…" Vadous frowned.

"Hioki Ryuuhei? Talk about curious." Omega commented.

"Why?"

"It's a name in a game I've been playing. _Conan & Kindaichi_. A mysterious man who's the manager of a coal factory in a small island… And seems to know more than he lets out… And his father is named Hioki Ryuuichi as well. The mother… The name isn't mentioned but… There's a character whose first name is "Mitsuru" too…"

"Well. Maybe the scriptwriters dug around for names and found those by coincidence and designed to use them for the game characters."

"Yeah. Guess so."

"So! Gentlemen. Did I FINALLY convince you?"

"For now."

"Fine!"

"Cool that head of yours a bit and think why we couldn't believe you were someone else."

"I heard it! My info was too vague. Fine! It'd seem I've been a bit _naïve_ in that aspect." "Eclipse" fumed.

"You wouldn't be Hioki Mitsuru, no?" Vadous asked.

"Hioki Mitsuru died 12 years ago of a heart attack. Is buried in Takamatsu. You can check it yourself. Hioki Ryuuichi also died in a car accident 6 years ago in Matsuyama."

"Ah. We hadn't had time to begun to look into that yet."

"Fine. I'm just someone who's got a score to settle with that Ryuuhei idiot. But first I'm going to make him feel some fear! He deserves it! I let a way out for the guy to make him rush out, making him realize his plans aren't perfect, they're crumbling away… And he'll know what a fugitive chased by the law really feels like…"

"Did he kill someone close to you?" Omega tried asking.

"Think what you want." "Eclipse" shrugged.

"Fine. But that won't stop us from figuring out who you are. We can't be sure if, once Virus is out of the equation, you'll become our enemy instead. Trade one enemy for another."

"I hope to pressure him to go back to his current hideout and thus reveal where it is. Once he's left with nowhere else to hide…"

"We want the guy alive." Omega warned.

"I never said I wanted to kill him. I just want him to be judged and holed up in the brig like that Anaya BITCH. Later!"

"The NSA should have the analysis done by now… I'll call Chief Lezareno."

"Alright. We'll see if there's anything else on the folder." Akira replied.

"Time to work!" Obihiro muttered.

"Yeah. We still need to figure out that woman's true colors…!"

18:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Who's there?"

"I guess you remember me."

"Damn it. You next? And then that black mole?"

"Of course. Kratins Boo!"

"Blood Shadow…!"

"IT'S ALL OVER!"

"Damn it! And Sigma too!"

"Sigma! Remember. You're backup."

"Gotcha!"

Kratins Boo had been walking down a ramp in the Reverse Internet when he realized someone was trailing him: he turned around and someone landed there followed by another Navi.

Blood Shadow used red as his main color of choice.

He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

He could be around Rock Man's age and height.

"Hey! Kratins! I'm your worst nightmare!"

"Sheesh."

Sigma was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which he was currently leaning on the floor.

"Fine! I'll wipe you out!"

"Using cheat codes?" Blood Shadow taunted.

"I'm not as stupid as Sunlight! I closed him on the brig! That should remind him who's in charge! I AM!"

He drew the gun and formed the missiles as he shot the stream of energy: Blood Shadow rolled across the ground, jumped and shot some quick shots with his shotgun to intercept them: Kratins Boo suddenly directed his attention at Sigma and shot a blast at him but Sigma used his blade to block all attacks: Kratins Boo fumed and tossed some flash-bang grenades around them before running off but Blood Shadow was already chasing him with a Dash Condor and Sigma was hovering over the ground and chasing him as well: Kratins Boo cursed under his breath.

"Damned. The grenades didn't work."

He stopped and shot the fragmentation bomb at them: they dodged the fragments and Kratins Boo shot the missiles at them but they got deviated through some sort of EM field: Kratins Boo suddenly smirked and seemed to be up to something: Blood Shadow ran forward but something exploded on the ground and blew up his right foot: he collapsed, groaning, and Sigma gasped as he hovered over the ground.

"Forget me! Chase him! Hover! The rascal's set Claymore mines on the ground! I'll ask for Sir Omega to retrieve me!"

"Roger!"

Sigma continued the chase and spotted Kratins Boo rushing into the Reverse Square which was full of Heel Navis: he smirked.

"An Official!" He roared.

"BEAT 'EM UP!"

"Sheesh. Last thing I needed… Oi! S – sama sends me!"

"Indeed! That man is our target!"

"Uwah! S – sama!"

"Devil. Serenade!"

The Heel Navis had been about to charge for Sigma and he tried to use Serenade's name to stop them: Serenade himself then showed up there and the Heel Navis stopped, terrified: Kratins Boo grumbled and ran off through another Warp Point.

"You may go back, Sigma. I shall teach that barbarian that the Japan Reverse Internet will NOT become a battlefield! NOT under MY watch." He was annoyed, for once.

"R-roger, S – sama!"

"You LOT! FLEE!" He brusquely ordered all Heel Navis.

They didn't need to be told twice: they ran off the direction Sigma had come in while Serenade quickly chased Kratins Boo: the enemy turned around and shot the missile barrage but Serenade's curved lances moved in front of him, blocked the attack and countered with a series of Sonic Booms: they hit Kratins Boo and he grumbled as he tried to increase his running pace: he detached the mantle and tossed it at Serenade but he brusquely flung it away with the right hand: Kratins Boo jumped down to another road and began to head for the "WWW Area" entrance: he was focused on Serenade so he didn't see someone in front of him who flung a cape at him: it got stuck in his face and before he could pull it out a saber plunged through his body but wasn't able to totally penetrate it: Kratins Boo stepped and flung the cape away to come to face Colonel: he cursed in his foreign idiom.

"Damn it. Ameroupe Army Network Troop's Colonel EXE…!"

"Hmpf." Colonel merely kept his saber ready.

"Hum. I hope you have not come to wage war." Serenade questioned Colonel with obvious mistrust.

"No. I was chasing this man thinking he might have a lead regarding Virus Daemon's whereabouts."

"Why would Virus tell a distraction?" Serenade argued back.

"You never know. Might have some data hidden on his body."

"Hum. I do not think the same but it matters not. If you need to fight take it to that area. It is outside of my jurisdiction. As long as war does not take place in my area, then…"

"Fine. You fool. Beat me. If you can, that is."

"Wha~t? I'm a military man too! I'll show you what WAR is about!"

Colonel merely ran into the "WWW Area" Warp Point and got inside while Kratins Boo followed him: Serenade merely stood there to watch the area as he formed a holographic screen displaying what was going on inside of that area: Colonel was luring Kratins Boo deeper and deeper in until they reached the deepest area: Colonel taunted Kratins Boo and he, angered, shot a missile barrage: it hit a door and ended up destroying it: Colonel rushed in to find a small square filled with "Promethean Knights" which were inactive: there were about 50 of them and a mysterious gigantic holographic-like greenish fluorescent clock with black hands was set on the air behind it: the hands were spinning clockwise at a mad speed: Colonel was hardly surprised while Kratins Boo's face turned all white: Colonel suddenly punched one of the enemies in the jaw with the left fist: its eyes turned on and the rest followed suit: Colonel smirked, for once, and he jumped over Kratins Boo to put some distance before bringing up an energy field that blocked the entrance and trapped him inside so Kratins Boo had to begin dealing with the enemies.

"You damned COWARD!" Kratins Boo roared.

"Scum will fight scum. I merely obeyed that rule." Colonel merely shrugged.

"Indeed." Barrel added.

"What the fuck's going on…? You're Colonel!"

"Virus Daemon. Like I predicted."

"Predicted? When the hell did I turn THAT predictable? That must that bastard's meddling as well!"

A "Promethean Knight" colored golden ran towards there but stumbled upon Colonel who taunted him: Virus grumbled over the radio and was pretty much annoyed.

"I stumbled upon that cache some days ago. But I lacked firepower to open it. So I "borrowed" someone who packed a lot of firepower. And then tossed it to handle the trash."

"Die, die, DIE~!" Kratins Boo roared inside.

"Devil!"

"I guess that clock is a timer that regulates their activation."

"Sheesh! And here I thought NO – ONE would bother to come here!"

"You underestimate us. Like your accomplice Keitai Denwa did."

"Sheesh! I'm not Keitai!"

"I'll catch you here and now. Hioki Ryuuhei."

"NO WAY~!" He gasped in disbelief.

"That's the last proof we needed. "Eclipse" isn't you."

"I'VE BEEN SAYING THAT FROM THE START!"

"We had no reason to believe you."

"DAMN IT ALL!"

"Hah! Cross Divide!"

Colonel swung his saber to form a Z-shaped attack and hit Virus' proxy: the "Promethean Knight" opened the faceplate and roared to taunt Colonel but he merely pierced through the chest with the saber: the enemy recoiled: an explosion suddenly rang out and Kratins Boo ran out of the square while having a lot of accumulated damage: he roared and rushed for Colonel but he merely jumped into the air and Kratins Boo ended up stabbing the golden enemy with the large knife: it got deleted and he ran away while the surviving "Knights" chased him: the giant clock suddenly stopped and got deleted while Colonel merely glanced at his saber and smirked.

"The data we extracted should tell us something. Let's analyze it, Barrel."

"Of course. I already got the NSA team in standby."

"Excellent. We're tightening the grip around you, Virus… Hmpf…"

"Indeed… A golden cage's waiting for you lowlife… Hmpf…"

22:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man. Talk about crazy, _Danna_ – _sama_."

"I know! That Eclipse! How the hell did he get his hands in that heap of info to begin with?"

"Eh… Eclipse is a woman, _Danna_ …"

"A woman…? Odd… I haven't met many women! Then I might be able to narrow down the subject…"

"They managed to breach her codes but…"

"But?"

"They always led to a net café."

"That means that…?"

"She carried the encryption in a USB memory and executed it before sending the mails… And the browser history is always erased every time you close the browser to ensue privacy…"

"Sheesh. Gotta be some smug BITCH!"

Virus was talking with Eisei as Eisei sat in the control room chair and was working with the PC: he was totally pissed off and Eisei seemed to be careful with his replies because he didn't want to further annoy him: Virus gasped when Eisei told him the gender of "Eclipse" and Virus fumed so Eisei gulped.

"Whatever! I'll figure something out! At least that Gorilla only managed to take out 8 of 50! I relocated the others to Wily's island base. Then I'll resume loading the clock there."

"You're gonna send them to the other front?"

"Yeah. To keep them distracted. Heh! Vadous will regret having brought those 2 here."

"But, _Danna_ … There are a 2 new defenders there, you know?"

"Bah! They're still rookies. They'll quickly fall!"

"But hero – sama's there, too. And the pals. It won't go like last time."

"Whatever. At least I'll make them experience fear and terror."

"My bad."

"You're not to blame. Anyway. Are you keeping 3 eyes on Ijuuin to make sure he doesn't pull anything?"

"Of course. He always tries to remove a knot or a padlock but I fix them afterwards. So all he does is in vain. I say nothing and the guy doesn't say anything either. I'm making the guy get nervous."

"Good. Keep it like that."

"Of course."

The call ended and Eisei stretched: he drank some orange juice and then stood up to exit into the main room: Enzan was sitting on the chair next to the bed and reading the usual book: he didn't bother to look up and Eisei grinned as he drew the PET and inputted a number.

"Time to greet and meet!" He made a silly pun.

"Huh? Who's calling?" The receiver asked.

"Someone."

"That voice…! You're Eisei, no? Where's Delta!"

"Don't worry, Akashi! The guy will become a pro masochist: isn't that what you wished for? To have a pet?"

"DON'T SCREW ME! Drake's my pal!" Akashi growled.

"Yeah. A pal you enjoying tying to the bed and fucking, no?" Eisei sneered.

"So what! It's a game! I'm not a sadist! It's to spice it up!"

"Calm down, Akashi – kun!" Zarashe whispered close by.

"So! Major Ocelot's fan is back on action?"

"Shut you damned trap!" Zarashe got annoyed.

"What happened to that "calm down"?" Beta X sighed.

"Like I care! You bastard! Like you'd know! That I was being brainwashed! I did something horrible!"

"I knew that."

"Huh? Then… You wanted to anger me in purpose!"

"Of course, Lestrade."

"Grrr…!"

"Well! Soon Tenishi will lick your feet and beg of you to properly use him: maybe he'll cross-dress as a maid like that Kuro guy in that gay OVA? Heh, heh! You did say the guy was your maid!"

"It was a joke based on that OVA!" Akashi fumed.

"Heh, heh! Your words strike back at ya, Mr. Universe!"

"What was that? You damned coward! Come out and fight me!"

"You better don't try. I've got experience in brawls. You don't have." Eisei warned him.

"Shit."

"Oh the despair!"

"You damned…!"

"Like I care! Heh! Insulting me won't change anything."

"Damn it all!"

"Oho. Wait a min, not so fast… Got something to show to ya…"

He inputted a command and Akashi gasped.

"T-this photo…! Enzan has been fucking Drake?"

"Yeah… Ijuuin here's a good pro sadist… Wants the guy for himself… So you better go propose to Junior instead…"

"YOU BASTARD!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Isn't that what you wished, Ijuuin?"

"What! Enzan's there? Oi! Enzan! Explain! What does that mean?"

"Like the guy says. I'm proving my competence." He didn't bother to look up from the book.

"You call that "competence"? You're more arrogant than I thought!"

"Whatever. Hate me more. It'll make me stronger."

"What crap is that? _Star Wars_? You're supposed to be realistic!"

"Who knows?"

"Oh come on. Hikari – kun told us already, Ijuuin – kun! You're pretending to be the bad guy to gain the confidence of Eisei but that's not working! So why don't you stop doing something so pointless? You know it won't work so why insist?" Zarashe brought up.

"Dunno."

"Sheesh. You're really a STUBBORN guy."

"Guess that. I didn't ask for your sympathy, MIB wannabe."

"MIB?"

"Men In Black." Beta X sighed.

"Oi! Don't mix me in with an overseas film!"

"Hmpf."

"Heh, heh, heh. Look forward to it, Akashi…"

"Like I would! I want the usual Delta back! Not some brainwashed puppet!"

"Brainwash? Have no need for that! Their bodies will yearn for domination! Their bodies will compel them to! You don't know what a real masochist is, Akashi. I'll show it to you someday." Eisei laughed.

"You fucking damned…!"

"And by the way: Ijuuin here might struggle all the guy wants but he's no more than my pet. Don't forget it!"

"Hmpf."

"You're sick." Akashi growled.

"Sick? Hah! Talk about the world! I'm just doing what countless others do the whole time. Aren't there a lot of gay S&M videos out there, anyway? Excellent masochists who take part in them and love being fucked."

"But that's because they're doing it out of their free will! You're keeping Delta and Raf hostages and do it against their will! Don't try to loophole the situation!" Akashi argued back.

"Time will tell, guys!"

"Don't screw me! Release Delta!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. He still needs some more training before he becomes a total masochist."

"Like I care!"

"But I care! It's my job."

"Job! That's not a job! That's torture!"

"Oh yeah? Then why do the armies and the police have experts in torture then?" He sneered.

"T-that's…!" He wasn't able to counter that.

"Being a torturer is a job too! Armies can attest to that."

"That's unrelated! Free them! Now!"

"And if I don't? Then what? Will you bite my balls?" Eisei taunted.

"Damn it." He hissed.

"Zarashe must be eager to check you out: why don't you have a hot affair tonight to improve your mood?" He snickered.

"Like I'd do that!" Zarashe hissed back.

"Heh, heh, heh. Good… Stay healthy!"

He finished the call and chuckled under his breath: Enzan was still reading the book and acting like nothing had happened to begin with: Eisei walked over to him and snickered at him but Enzan merely returned his dull and bored glare: Eisei got annoyed.

"Sheesh. That glare annoys me. Reminds me of that crybaby!"

Enzan didn't bother to reply and Eisei fumed before he returned to the control room and sat back on his chair.

"Whatever. The crybaby must've forgotten me by now. Let's focus on the matter at hand. Maybe I could set up something new… Hmmm… Yeah. This could do. Heh, heh! Tomorrow will be fun."

He began to draw something on a sheet of paper and snickered.

 _This will be great! I'm a genius when it comes to this stuff! Heh, heh, heh!_


	11. Chapter 11: Gray day

**Chapter 11: Gray day**

09:49 AM (Japan Time), Sunday August the 14th…

"… Hmmm… The info suggested someone was lurking in this abandoned coal mine control center but doesn't seem to be true…"

"It's true because I leaked that!"

"That voice… Gemini Spark Black."

"GRAY THUNDERBOLT! DAMN IT!"

"My bad."

"Damn it! Brad Shad!"

"Blood Shadow!"

"Hah! Word for a word!"

"Sheesh."

Blood Shadow was inspecting a Cyber World somewhere when Eisei's voice rang out: his Gray Thunderbolt avatar showed up and Blood Shadow called him by another name so he got annoyed: Gray Thunderbolt countered with a nickname for Blood Shadow and he got annoyed as well so he smirked.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'll prove my power to you! Gray Thunder!"

"Predictable."

"Or so you think?"

"What? Ugrah!"

Gray Thunderbolt shot his Gray Thunder at Blood Shadow yet it split into multiple smaller streams that flew past him they suddenly converged again behind him and formed a spheroid from which the beam was shot at his back: he groaned and Gray Thunderbolt suddenly rushed in while drawing two Elec Swords: he swung twice but Blood Shadow suddenly lifted his shotgun which was already loaded with energy: he unloaded them at close-quarters and the blow did damage Gray Thunderbolt's armor: he was pushed backwards and he groaned: Blood Shadow recovered and delivered an uppercut to his jaw next.

"Oof!"

The blow did stun him for a second and Blood Shadow did deliver another blow to the stomach area followed by a kick on his balls: Gray Thunderbolt groaned and clutched that part out of instinct yet Blood Shadow delivered a fist to his nose: the blow made him recoil and he got tackled by Blood Shadow's right shoulder: he fell face-up on the ground and groaned while Blood Shadow aimed his shotgun at him.

"What happened to brag of "I'm not a crybaby"?" He taunted.

"Fuck. I got so absorbed in my new "role" that I forgot my own resistance to pain…!" He growled.

"Where are those 3?"

"Heh! Go ahead, delete me!" He taunted back.

"I'm not an idiot. I'll get the answer. I only need to access your memory."

"IT'S ALL OVER!"

"Damn it!"

"Saw that coming too."

"Fuck."

Sigma suddenly became visible and loomed over the golden "Promethean Knight" that had tried to attack Blood Shadow from behind: Virus cursed through the proxy while Blood Shadow smirked: he lifted the shotgun and shot ahead of him: he hit something and a normal "Knight" turned visible: Omega suddenly showed up and beheaded it with a neat swing thus deleting it without sweating.

"Omega too!" Virus cursed.

"That your best plan, Hioki?" He taunted.

"VIRUS!"

"Hioki."

"Damned bitch!"

"My, my. Ryuuhei… Did you forget Anaya's "4th rule of behavior all men under my rule must have"'…?"

"Oh crap!"

"I'll quote it to you! "All men under my command can never call other women "bitch"! Even if they're the enemy or if they hate them. That rule applies FOREVER!"…"

"Eclipse" suddenly showed up there and quoted a rule: Virus gasped, panicked, and was trying to argue something but got stuck and his words wouldn't come out.

"Maybe I can let Anaya hear this?"

"You're BLUFFING!" Virus grumbled.

"Oh yes? Why would that be?"

"Because IQ – sama…! Huh!" He suddenly stopped himself.

"Because Anaya…? What. She's in Guantanamo?"

"NO!"

"A shadow CIA prison in Africa?"

"NO!"

"In Shadow Moses Island?"

"Shadow Moses is a fictional island!" He grumbled.

"I know that rule because… I worked in the "Palace". As a spy, that is. Not because I really liked to torture other women or men. To spy on you AND Anaya." "Eclipse" let out.

"E~h!" Virus gasped.

"I see." Vadous muttered through Omega's radio.

"Huff. This guy's memory files got a bundle of fail-safes. It's taking time to try to break them." Blood Shadow reported.

He'd gripped Gray Thunderbolt's head with the left hand and a greenish fluorescent glow surrounded his hand: Gray Thunderbolt was trying to pull it away by forcing with his arms but wasn't succeeding.

"No flash-bangs will work here either." Omega warned.

"Hah! I've got other means to finish you all!" Virus gloated.

"Huh? Ah! Don't tell me…!" Vadous seemed to have a hunch.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

About 40 "Knights" suddenly showed up and all-out fighting began: Blood Shadow had to join the fight and couldn't keep an eye on Gray Thunderbolt who used the chance to run away only to stumble upon Tabuu who'd just come in.

"Not ya again!"

"Yes, me. Futaba Hikaru."

"EISEI AARON! Don't put me in the same boat as that crybaby!"

"Oh?" "Eclipse" was still standing there shielded by a Dream Aura.

"It doesn't involve ya! Snooper!" He grumbled back.

"I decide what involves me and what it doesn't."

"Even if ya try to investigate that name…! That won't allow ya to figure out the hideout!"

"Time will tell."

"Sheesh. You're the annoying type!"

"So what."

"Cosmo Beam."

"Ugrah! Not this again! It's too strong!"

"I don't hold back."

Tabuu shot his golden beam at Gray Thunderbolt and he got sent some meters further from the blow: his armor got further damaged and he groaned before performing a "Plug Out": Tabuu shrugged and focused his attention on "Eclipse".

"So? Whose side are you on?"

"Mine."

"Classical."

"I'm not trying to imitate some movie. I'm serious. Else I wouldn't have stepped into that Hell to monitor Ryuuhei."

"Virus!" He growled back.

"Force me to say it. Bug Squish Team Leader."

"Why did I have to think of that name? It's shameful!" He growled, frustrated.

"Ask your imagination."

"Who the hell are you?"

"A ghost from the past."

"How original!"

"Isn't it? It'd seem the room's too crowded, though. I'm going to watch from a VIP seat. Bye."

"Eclipse" exited the area and Tabuu shrugged as he stretched his wings and began to rob HP from the "Knight" squad: they began to collapse one after the other into the ground and, in a little while, even Virus' proxy had collapsed: Virus growled and the proxy blew up while the other 3 examined the remaining units.

"Nothing interesting on them. They were set to wait in Wily's island fortress but…"

"My, my. I did use that place too."

"Looks like Wily will have to demand a rent fare." Vadous ironically suggested.

"Why did you let Eclipse run, though?" Blood Shadow asked.

"She didn't pose a threat. For now, that is."

"Huff. This is getting complicated again." Sigma grumbled.

"Complaining won't change things. Let's think what to do out of this mountain of scrap."

"Let's recycle them and pit them against Virus if he's got another legion of these ready. Trash will fight trash." Vadous suggested.

"Excellent." Tabuu was amused.

"Great idea, Boss. I love the irony it has. Virus defeated by his own tools… Now that'd be fitting. Let's move it!"

13:03 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm…"

"Someone's there, Rock Man?"

"Yeah. They don't bother to hide their presence."

"Do I ready "it"?"

"OK, Netto – kun. It could come in handy… Plus the 4."

"Gotcha."

"Found you, Rock Man! I'll destroy you! In the name of the "Devil Syndicate"!"

"I knew it. You're High – Max. Beta X's former CO."

Rock Man was inspecting the Yoka Yoka Internet City when he noticed someone trailing him: he whispered to Netto as High – Max suddenly appeared: Rock Man wasn't surprised.

"By the way. Did you go the gym to get this mole?"

"What was that? You impudent brat!"

"Bully go home. Pick someone of your size. Kratins Boo, for example."

"Hmpf! It's preferable to squish interlopers!"

"Don't tell me. Then squish yourself as well."

"Hmpf! Trying to play mature won't save you! I don't care if you brought down the Dream Virus and that dog thing. You can't defeat me!"

"I can. Through ESP." He smirked.

"Ridiculous!"

"Not as ridiculous as your papier-mâché armor." Rock Man shot back.

"What! How dare you!"

"I dare. Maybe Ms. Veronica Dare of Naval Intelligence will question your sources?" He suggested.

"N-Naval Intelligence!" He gasped.

"They're eager to inspect it least you bring you shame to them."

"… Wait a minute! You're fooling me! You're trying to make me panic and run away! What "hero"! You're but a coward!"

"Like I care. I never called myself a "hero"."

"What!"

"I only did what I had to do. Happened to be the only one who could do it. That's all. I never sought fame or money. Just for everything to go back to normal, to how it was until then. Something you lot would never understand…" His glare turned serious.

"W-what's with that glare?" High – Max gasped.

"I'm serious. Unlike you."

"WHAT?"

"You're merely bragging and haunted by a phantom."

"The "Syndicate" lives on forever!"

"Bullshit."

"WHAT!"

"The "Committee" along with the Officials and the Net Police brought it down back then. Your leader's in jail. The business shut down. The Admins dispersed in jails there and there. There's no – one in charge. You cling to a phantom. That's all." Rock Man fumed.

"Hmpf! What would a brat know? I'll delete you in one blow!"

High – Max began to form the spheroid but Rock Man quickly formed a jet-pack on his back over the backpack and flew into the sky: he spawned an Energy Sword from the HALO games next and sliced the forming spheroid in half: it imploded and High – Max gasped as Rock Man suddenly stabbed his neck: the sword didn't manage to cut through the whole of the armor and High – Max smirked yet Rock Man directed a dull and unimpressed glare at him which made him lose confidence: Rock Man flew away as High – Max was about to hit him with the right fist: Rock Man formed a Mini Bomb and threw it at High – Max: it did nothing and High – Max began to laugh but he was suddenly bombarded by tens of Mini Bombs that fell from the sky: they caused smoke upon impact as well thus limiting his vision.

"What petty tricks!" He cursed.

"Hmpf. You're one to talk." Rock Man shot back.

"Come out!"

"I'm already here."

"Where…? Gruh!"

Rock Man suddenly landed on his chest and plunged his Energy Sword on the upper chest: High – Max growled and tried to punch him but failed because Rock Man had already flown away: Rock Man then tossed a Giga Count Bomb at High – Max and he merely punched it: the bomb exploded but the explosion didn't get to harm him too much: he laughed yet his whole arm suddenly frizzled and turned into stone: it detached and hit the floor, shattering, before getting deleted.

"W-what!"

"That bomb had a special virus on it."

"What!"

"Something a friend helped me develop… Now, if you don't want to lose any more limbs… Get out of here." Rock Man threatened.

"I can't believe it!"

"What. Just because I'm 14 that doesn't mean I can't think of alternative means to fight opponents. You're a Navi, anyway. You can regenerate that arm in less than 10 minutes if you've got a repairs machine."

"Grrr!"

"You bully. Try me on for a change."

"Who…? Gruh! The Zero Virus' core!"

"Wrong. Zero EXE."

Zero suddenly showed up there and plunged his sword into the upper chest taking profit of Rock Man's earlier attack: it plunged deeper and then he warped out of reach as High – Max swung his left fist and tried to hit him: he got annoyed.

"Out of the way! I'll squish that damned gnat!"

"Get past me. Bully." Zero shot back.

"I'm supreme~!"

"Oh yeah? And you got defeated by Omega."

"Grrr! That was unfair!"

"You weren't fair to begin with."

"I'll SQUISH you!"

"Huff… You bark but you don't bite. How lame." Zero was disappointed already.

"I'm not a dog to yank around the chain! You are!"

Zero didn't reply and dodged the left fist swings: High – Max then formed his spheroid of energy and threw it at Zero: he merely warped behind High – Max and the spheroid hit him but it didn't harm him.

"Fool! I redid them so that they don't harm me!"

"So you're like Grievous. When he said this… "Do you think I'm stupid enough to equip my bodyguards with weapons which can actually harm me?"…" Zero taunted.

"Don't put me in the same ship as the failed hybrid!"

"Hmpf… Guess your petty master was eventually planning on replacing you for Grievous."

"N-no way! Master Caesar would never do that!"

"People change. Don't they?" Zero shrugged.

"You won't insult Master Caesar! Die! MAX POWER!"

He loaded up energy around his left fist and hit the ground to make it shake: fissures opened and walls of flames rose up while the terrain pieces began to tilt and change height and position: Zero merely hovered as all the ground became Magma Panels: High – Max formed a spheroid of magma and flung it at Zero yet he made his blade glow with a greenish glow and hit the spheroid to fling it back at High – Max: he gasped and countered but Zero saw it coming and countered too: a loop began.

"Dead man's volley." Zero taunted.

"Damn them all! You're supposed to be WEAK!"

"What proves that?"

"I don't need proof! I say so! You must be!"

"Reality distortion fields don't win battles."

"They win! Master Caesar said so! That I'm the strongest!"

"You're annoying. I'll show you how weak you really are when faced with intelligence!"

Zero formed a green "Sonic Boom" and it sliced High – Max's left shoulder in half: the arm fell into the ground and got deleted but High – Max wouldn't give up so easily: he suddenly charged forward with his right foot and Zero barely dodged because he didn't expect that: he merely cut up the right ankle in half so High – Max's balance in mid-air began to worsen: he desperately tried the left foot next but was met with the same result: with no legs he fell face-up into his own Magma Stage and began to suffer damage.

"You were asking for it." Zero shrugged.

"Huff! Totally. I told you to go back and you didn't obey." Rock Man shrugged.

"And… Your own Field will turn out to be your own doom. Talk about ironic, no?" Netto added.

"D-damn you all…!"

The "portal" formed beneath High – Max and he got retrieved while Virus' proxy showed up and directed a glare at them yet none were intimidated: Virus growled over the radio.

"One day…! I'll deliver you to IQ – sama…! And then Her Grace will turn you into her slaves! Will destroy your minds!" He threatened.

"Shoo, shoo. Aliens go home." Both taunted back.

"Maybe you need some "surgery" too." Zero held up the blade.

"Fuck. I'm off! That damned Eclipse! I'm so gonna kill her!"

"There they go. It's easier to deal with idiots than with clever guys. Have at you, you villains. Hmpf!"

22:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Witness, audience! I've come up with a new cool formation which will impress you… I call it… "Mid-air agony"! You'll soon see what this is about, indeed! Heh, heh!"

Eisei was talking to the cameras as he and Enzan were standing in the main room: he then looked close by and sneered.

"There it is!"

Delta and Rafael had been placed in mid-air at around a standing person's waist height through a hook that kept them in that position and each facing opposite directions: there was a column in the ground rising up: two sets of two spinning dildos emerged from the sides and they were already spinning inside of their asses: their bags were lifted to expose their mouths kept open and both Enzan (in front of Delta, facing north) and Eisei (in front of Rafael, facing south) had hardened their cocks and were about to have them suck those.

"They're hovering in the air and those precious dildos toy with their asses! And in the meanwhile… They'll doing some neat blowjobs! Their training is making great progress! It's over 85% completed… Soon they'll be real and genuine masochist gay slaves!" He announced.

 _That of the percentage is a lie I made up for the audience… But it doesn't matter… I can read it on their bodies, on their behavior during the day… That they're eager for more… In fact… They've begun taking turns having sex between them because they can't wait for the evening! They should be glad, though! It's just one session per day. Last month the_ Danna – sama _had those guys undergo 3 sessions per day! But he might've made a mistake. By allowing them to speak to each other and all… They managed to retain their sanity and hold back their instincts… What should've been done is to keep them in separate cells… And like I did: don't let them see or speak… Don't let them move too much… Just enough so that they can use the toilet… And forcefully feed them… Back when IQ – sama's rule… IQ – sama wanted the thing to work like a prison so… They were granted a prison uniform and an ID bracelet… And kept in the cells but in groups to save up space… The 3 sessions per day did happen…_

"… As you can see… They're eagerly sucking them up! They've been waiting for this moment to come! Another proof of their true nature!"

 _Rules were simple… Men could only fuck men. But women were allowed to fuck men apart from women… Sometimes… IQ – sama would have a caprice and organize for some show in Her Grace's bedroom… Her Grace and Mr. Secretary would carry out the stuff… Like… Picking a girl and a guy… Forcing the girl to fuck the guy… But at the same time… The girl would be tamed by IQ – sama and the guy by Mr. Secretary. The show varied on the mood IQ – sama had. When a slave was deemed too broken they abandoned them in some city… And they could always get new ones through the clubs the "Secret Empire" controlled… But all of that came to an end when Vadous caught IQ – sama and destroyed the "Palace"… Without Her Grace's control… The empire collapsed… And all businesses when back to killing each other for supremacy…_

"Heh, heh, heh! We needn't even guide them! Look at how they move on their own: isn't that excellent?"

 _Heh… Ijuuin… You've kept on with your lil desperate attempts every single day… And I've been punishing ya… By reminding ya that ya are my slave and I can fuck ya in any manner I want to… Like leaving you riding the horse for 6 hours… Having you be fucked by the machine for 4 hours… Or impeding you of going to the restroom until you crawled across the ground and licked my feet… You wanted to earn "hate", no? Now you must hate me… Like I care! Hate makes me stronger._

"Once we fill up their mouths… We're gonna reward them with some ass fucking… You look forward to some cocks, don't you? Say yeah! Admit to your true nature!"

Both guys nodded in affirmation and Eisei's grin grew wider: he quickly checked on Enzan but he wasn't doing anything odd as of yet: he shrugged and inwardly chuckled as he released inside of Rafael's mouth: he rubbed his jaw with the right hand and then lowered the bag to hide his mouth: he pulled him forward to detach him from the dildos as Enzan did the same with Delta: they turned them around 180 degrees and stopped: Eisei searched inside of a nearby box and drew a double-ended dildo colored black: he placed it on the column after taking the piece having the dildo set and moved both guys forward before lifting their bags to show their mouths: they were drooling the cum inside of them.

"There's a surprise right ahead of you guys. You'll love it!"

He moved Rafael forward and had him take most of the dildo inside of his mouth while Enzan forced Delta to do the same: they began to suck the dildo while Enzan and Eisei filled their asses with anal beads followed by their hardened cocks: they swung them forward and back while crushing their balls with the left hands.

"See, my audience? They still wanted something else in their mouths so we granted them this present. They're lubricating them with our stuff as well so they'll taste like real cocks. I'm a genius when it comes to inventing new stuff, ya know? Heh, heh!"

 _Oho. Speaking of ideas… I've got an excellent one! I'll pick the videos, record them in DVDs and send them by mail to Akashi and Tomono: they'll be SO envious! Heh, heh! It'll be fun! Very fun! This way I can shake off this morning's bad mood! Really! To think those 3 would come out along with that rascal…! And to think that "Eclipse" actually managed to infiltrate the "Palace" by pretending she was a sadist…! IQ – sama must've been way too eager to welcome a fellow woman sadist and didn't bother to investigate her background. Her Grace had these fits of arrogance and megalomania…!_

"Remember! Your ass is there to be filled up with all kinds of stuff! To be properly used! And your mouth is to suck up cocks! That's all! You must make sure to please the customers with good blowjobs! Move fast and without hesitation! They'll reward you with doggy-style fucking! Heh, heh, heh!" Eisei chucked.

He released inside of Rafael's ass and stuffed a dildo into his ass next as he stepped back and looked on: Enzan did the same and both watched as Delta and Rafael kept on swinging and sucking up the dildos while the ones in their asses swung left and right: Eisei chuckled and glanced at Enzan but wasn't doing anything suspicious: Eisei grinned and walked closer to them to then pull their nipples' pegs cords: both guys seemed to inwardly groan and moan so Eisei's grin widened.

"They love the pain! They need it! There's no life sans pain! The Pain! Of the Cobra Unit! He should teach them about true pain! This is a blessing, even!" He exclaimed in a sinister tone.

He spotted how Enzan shivered for a second and seemed to try to appeal as nothing had happened: Eisei snickered.

"Let's give them a reward for their behavior! Hop!"

Eisei and Enzan pulled out the urethra vibrators and allowed Rafael and Delta to release: they fainted from the stress and Eisei chuckled as he stopped everything and pulled them away from the column's dildos.

"Oh well! Let's leave it at here for now! Look forward to the next session, my audience! _Ciao_!"

He shut off the cameras and lowered Rafael into the tray: he took out the dildo and the anal beads and then released the hook: Enzan did the same for Delta and they pulled the trays until the front of the cell: Eisei glared at Enzan and he silently headed into the restroom: Eisei locked the door from the outside and chuckled.

"Let's cleanse up."

He opened the cell door and tossed both of them inside before shutting it down and locking it again: he heard the toilet flushing and so he unlocked the restroom: he heard a groan and a THUD sound so he gasped and rushed in to see Enzan on the ground clutching his stomach and groaning: Eisei crouched next to him and shook him.

"O-oi! Hold in there! Damn it! What do I do? What do I do? It might be some infection or something like that! I don't have any medicines here either! What do I do…?" He began to panic.

"Gruh… Krugh…! Gragh…!" Enzan hissed.

"Maybe I can leave the guy close to a hospital while covering his eyes so that he can't know the place… Guess I'll have to do that… Where did I put that…? The chloroform… Ah! Here it is!"

He searched inside of a cupboard inside the sink and found a bottle of chloroform: he opened it and soaked a small towel with it: he was absorbed into that and didn't see Enzan silently rising behind him: he suddenly gripped Eisei from behind, yanked the cloth from his hand and pressed it against Eisei's mouth: but, to Enzan's surprise, it had no effect and Eisei quickly punched him with the right elbow: he stepped over Enzan's right foot: Eisei suddenly smirked and warped out of his location to reappear behind Enzan: he formed some electricity over his right forearm and shot it at Enzan: he roared and fainted, collapsing into the ground.

"Too bad, Ijuuin… A desperate gamble indeed! Too bad, though… Because I'm a Navi! Just like Rafael and Delta. You're pretty thick-headed… Thought you'd figured me out because I never use the toilet… Or maybe you though I had a private one? Whatever. I see I can't use you anymore so I'll set you to be their plaything. Heh, heh!"

He set up Enzan like the other two and brought him to the dungeon: Delta and Rafael seemed to react to the sound.

"Yo! I brought you a new pal. Have fun with the guy! Ah yeah… The other guy quit… Got ill… So… See ya around!"

He closed the door and chuckled under his breath as he entered the control room and checked the security feed: Delta (from behind) and Rafael (from the front) had begun to have sex with Enzan so Eisei sneered and laughed aloud.

"Heh, heh. I told ya, Ijuuin... This is what would happen if ya didn't obey me… You got confident and staked it all on a last desperate gamble! But even if you'd knocked me out… That wouldn't have gotten you out. Rafael and Delta have their Navi abilities locked by a password which they can't decode. And it'd change nothing. Because the exit will only open under 2 conditions: I wish it to… Or the emergency release is triggered… But I sabotaged that! And you don't have the tools here to repair it either… So maybe you could try to "convince" me through sex but unless I really wish to, the exit won't open!" He reflected aloud.

His PET rang so he picked it up.

"How are things like?" Virus asked.

"Ijuuin tried a desperate gamble and failed. I tossed 'im into the brig."

"Hah! Saw it coming. Like the old man!"

"Sure, _Danna – sama_."

"I guess I'll finally come in a few days' time. Don't lower the guard until then, though." Virus ordered.

"Roger that."

The call ended so Eisei shrugged and tapped the desk's edge.

 _Heh, heh, heh… Let's send the DVDs… And watch them despair!_


	12. Chapter 12: Impotence

**Chapter 12: Impotence**

08:08 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday August the 16th…

"… By all the damned…"

"Cursing won't change anything, Netto – kun."

"I know! Saito – niisan! But nevertheless…!"

"I know those DVDs were provocative but if we let those provoke us then Eisei gets away with it."

"I know, but…!"

"Netto…"

"Ah. Meiru. You were back in town, too?"

"Yeah… What's happened?"

"Well…"

Netto and Saito were discussing as they sat on a bench in Akihara's park: Netto was furious while Saito was trying to calm him down: Meiru stepped there, worried.

"Eisei. Sent us some DVDs. Which showed how he has fun torturing Delta and Raf." Netto grumbled.

"What a villain!" Meiru fumed.

"Yeah. Totally."

"But it's not like complaining will change anything, right?" Roll reminded them.

"It won't, obviously enough." Saito admitted.

"Maybe something can change… if you cooperate."

"Huh? Who are you? Wait! Are you "Eclipse"?"

"Yeah. That's me. Now tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"The info you got out of them."

"What info?"

"Eclipse" suddenly appeared behind Roll and she turned around in a combat stance as "Eclipse" merely stood there.

"Some info that involves Vadous…"

"I dunno." Roll shot back.

"You don't want to save your friends?"

"That info you want is hardly related to my friends' location."

"You never know."

"I made a deal that I wouldn't tell anyone else."

"With those liars?"

"Liars? Oh come on. Don't be stupid. It's not like we need to know everything about them. Some things are better off not knowing. It's called "Need Not To Know"." Meiru shot back.

"And thus you allow them to deceive you."

"Deceive us? Oh come on. After all the efforts they've done for our sake insofar? You gotta be a paranoid CIA spy!"

"I work for no government! I work for myself!"

"Well then. Why didn't you tell us Virus' location a month ago?"

"Hmpf. I was hoping to expose those corrupt businessmen to the media but the tale ended before I'd finished gathering enough info."

"You could've done that later! Our lives were at stake!" Netto grumbled at her.

"They weren't. Seeing how Virus was behaving like an idiot to begin with I knew he wouldn't get anywhere anytime soon. And since I knew you could talk to each other and all then you'd support each other. So there was no risk of any of you going mad."

"There's always a possibility." Saito icily hissed.

"Maybe. But those hypocrites came first in my list."

"How can we trust you if you prioritize those over us?"

"I told you: I knew you'd emerge in one piece."

"Which is your way of saying "I couldn't care less"?" Saito taunted.

"Hmpf. Whatever."

"Another reason we can't trust you."

"But the info I gave you was true. Wasn't it?"

"It was. But that doesn't mean we can trust you. We can't know if you'll become our enemy once Virus is out of the picture."

"Hmpf. Those liars have filled you with paranoia…"

"Talk for yourself. Your "leaks" have lies on them to allow Virus to escape every single day."

"It's part of the plan."

"Loopholes." Meiru fumed.

"You're one to talk, Sakurai! You're still _naïve_. You don't know how the world works like. And if you think you'll be able to keep those impulses of you at bay by saying "it's a game" then you're wrong. I met several sadist women there, on the "Palace"… And most began like that: "it's a game", "we pretend", "I don't intend to do it for real"… But they eventually are unable to hold back their impulses."

"Hmpf. Time will tell!" Meiru was hardly impressed.

"Indeed. Time will tell." "Eclipse" seemed to sneer.

"Then you gotta be a granny on her 60s." Meiru taunted.

"WHAT? HOW DARE CHA? I'M NOT EVEN 35!"

"Which means you're in your 30s."

"So what! That means I'm mature! Adult! I've lived enough to understand things and to earn my life!"

"Are you using bazaar perfume?" She taunted next.

"Talk for yourself!"

"Oh no! I only use cologne from time to time. I don't depend on those."

"Hah! And you must use "something" to do "something"!"

"Chut!" She hissed.

"Eh…" Roll called out to Netto and Saito.

"Ah. Guess it'll become intimate at some point so… Let's go back home and ask the "Committee" if they've got new info." Saito whispered to Netto.

"Yeah. Let's do so."

Both left the square as Meiru rushed for her home and shut the windows before sitting down in a chair next to the kitchen's table: she placed the PET atop the table too.

"Now they can't hear us!"

"Oho. Found it."

"What!"

"How _naïve_! To stuff those in a folder named "My Secret"…"

"Hey you! Give back those files!"

"Eclipse" had suddenly entered a folder in the PET's storage and drew some files: Roll drew the Roll Arrow and aimed it at "Eclipse" but she merely looked at Roll.

"You need to see a Frenchwoman."

"Why would I?"

"They know about "those"."

"HEY!"

"Don't you wish that to get the attention of your boyfriend?" "Eclipse" taunted.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's my friend! My classmate! That's all! Don't go start a romance like you were an _anime_ forum!"

"Satoshi & Iris?" She laughed.

"Like I care!"

"I thought you were a desperate fan-girl!"

"Give back the files! THIEF!"

"Catch me if you can! Rhapsody In Pink!"

"I HATE THAT NAME~! WAIT THERE, CHA~!"

"Who will wait when you tell them to?"

"Maybe I was waiting for YOU."

"Who…? Grah! Sigaano!"

"Indeed!"

"Eclipse" ended up stumbling upon Tabuu when running out of Meiru's house Cyber World: Tabuu quickly flung the golden chain forward and yanked the folder off her hands to keep them: Roll shot the Roll Arrow at "Eclipse" from behind and it stabbed her: she got paralyzed and she fumed as she got cornered.

"This is as far as you come. Sorry, Sakurai, but I'll have to take custody of these files."

"Go ahead. I've got the hunch this gal would come try again if I kept them in the PET." Meiru authorized.

"Don't trust liars!"

"You're a liar. I'm sure you've got some personal grudge with Virus hence why you want to see him defeated. But what'll happen then? You'll turn out to be a foreign agent who's been sabotaging national defenses to allow for a massive attack?" Tabuu fumed.

"Like I would! I only want Ryuuhei to suffer! That's all! He got it coming, the damned ungrateful bastard!"

"I heard the earlier talk. Exposing those men could've been done after they were rescued. You didn't think of that? Leak the location the same day and we could've caught them red-handed."

"That wouldn't have been interesting! It's better to see them chased by society and terrified! I'm off this place!"

"Eclipse" managed to jump and run away so Tabuu shrugged while Roll and Meiru fumed.

"Go back and never come back! That gal!" Meiru complained.

"Someone should teach her some morality!" Roll added.

"Guess so. Don't lower the guard. I'm off."

12:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff."

"What's the matter, Mamoru?"

"It's just that… I feel so powerless… I've been trying to help but I'm not able to figure out anything…"

"Do not give up, Mamoru. There is still hope."

"Maybe, but…"

Urakawa was talking with Serenade inside of his room and looked sad as he drank some apple juice with a straw: Serenade was calm and was trying to encourage him.

 _Not to mention I got those DVDs too… And they froze me! Hard to believe someone can go to such ends…! I don't want to get involved in that stuff! Ever!_

"So! The rumors were true. That a child was the Admin of the Japan Reverse Internet…"

"You are… "Eclipse"." Serenade muttered.

"Reverse King Serenade… I thought as much: you were conspiring together!"

"Conspiring? On what grounds can you say that? We are friends: and I seek to avoid the Reverse Internet becoming a battlefield or a market of war. That is all." Serenade was getting annoyed, for once.

"I thought you never got annoyed."

"You are trespassing the limits of my benevolence, Eclipse."

"Hmpf. Don't tell me."

"Do I look like I am kidding?" His glare turned deadly.

"Seems like you aren't."

"I've placed powerful encoding on all of my folders: you won't steal anything from us! You info-stealer!"

"I'm not an info-stealer. I just need to know what Ryuuhei's been up to during those gaps in my monitoring."

"Like I'd know! Until last month I'd never heard of him!"

"What? I thought you had been on his trail for years?"

"Where the heck did you get that idea? Of course not! We were busy with other folk before that: such as Alive Cell and Keitai Denwa!"

"Damn. I got fooled by some misinformation!"

"Your eagerness and impatience will become your undoing." Serenade sentenced.

"Time will tell!" She fumed.

"Thought as much! Here you are." Omega showed up.

"Not you next! You half-crazy man!"

"Charmed." He drily shot back.

"And you still call yourself "ally of justice"? Hypocrisy!"

"You're one to talk. Letting Virus escape the whole time."

"I'm pressuring him to flee to his hideout and figure out its location!" She exclaimed.

"We could do that ourselves by catching the guy and reading his chip implant: all agents of Anaya had one. You surely had one but I'm sure you've been smart enough to remove it."

"My means are subtler! And I make Ryuuhei suffer! The pain of his victims!"

"Hmpf. Hatred only fuels hatred. It leads nowhere at all."

"What really happened back on St. Valentine's? Huh? I don't buy the tale of Austrian foreigners: I haven't located them in all this time!"

"Maybe they can exist in the real world: and you didn't think of that?"

"Shit. Why didn't I?" She cursed.

"Because you're impatient. That's it. You get obsessed with your paranoia and can't see beyond it."

"I'm sure there's more to it! And to Ryuuhei's disappearances!"

"Maybe he goes and lives in an underground locale?"

"Oh shit. Why didn't I think of something so simple? The nanomachines signal is blocked when you're underground!"

"And you call yourself a spy." Omega taunted.

"What a disappointment. Cannot even think of such simple alternatives to the questions…" Serenade fumed.

"Yeah. Life isn't about conspiracies. And why bother if they don't involve you? I just want to live my life and that's it."

"You lack passion and thrill!"

"They lead to disasters."

"Sheesh."

"If that's all you had to… then SCRAM. Before I get second thoughts and deliver you to the Officials." Omega drew his saber.

"Hmpf! War and pestilence: that's all you men achieve!"

"Maybe but that's unrelated. What matters is that you're not trustable in the least. And I'm wary of you. Maybe you need to take some lessons from Ada Wong on how to be a spy."

"That bitch has nothing to do with me! Thinks she's gallant moving around with a bow-gun and a hook-shot! And with Chinese dresses! She's just a mere bitch!" "Eclipse" exclaimed.

"Then go beat them. If you _can_."

"Are you saying I'll lose to some bitch? No! I'll show it to you men! How I beat that bitch and rise to glory!"

"You sound like Anaya to begin with. It makes me get annoyed."

"I told you I spied on that madwoman to try to stop her! And managed to free some prisoners!"

"Ah. So you're the so-called "insider" who rescued several prisoners by faking reports saying they had illnesses."

"You should be grateful to me!"

"Then why didn't you go and sabotage the thing to begin with?"

"That's…!" She was out of arguments.

"I'm sure you could've. But didn't. Because you were fixated on Hioki and forgot about the rest of the victims."

"T-that's…!"

"So you abandoned them to their fate. And you had no way of knowing if someone would ever rescue them."

"B-but…!"

"You're no ally of justice either. You wouldn't have abandoned them."

"Talk about YOU!"

"Who, Boss? Boss took some time to figure out the madwoman's true nature. And to come up with a good plan to save all of her victims: not just those in the clubs but also in the "Palace". And he saved them all. While bringing down the "empire"…"

"Men! Always robbing us of glory! Always rushing it all! Always impatient: we women are subtler!"

"Subtler? Yeah. Sure. If you were subtle you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have shown up in person. Ever. You'd remained invisible and hidden. You're exposing yourself."

"Exposing…? Oh fuck!"

The Navi was suddenly retrieved and Omega shrugged: Serenade fumed and Urakawa sighed.

"How was it like, Blood?"

"I managed to trace until Eastern Shinjuku…" Blood Shadow reported.

"Hmmm… Eastern Shinjuku, huh… Lots of stores there… There could be several Net Café stores too…" Omega muttered.

"Do we continue the investigation?"

"No. I'm sure our subject has already moved elsewhere by now. But I'm sure that woman will show up wherever Virus' hideout is at. Virus might try luring her there to kill her, too."

"A trap, huh." Urakawa muttered.

"What were you expecting?"

"I know."

"Excuse me. I am looking for Urakawa – sama. My name's King Man."

King Man appeared there and Omega directed a mistrusting glare at the guy before apparently scanning him.

"You were the Navi of that Net Chess player… Aragoma Torakichi – kun, was it? He was lodging here last month." Urakawa remembered.

"Yo~! Urakawa~! Man! Been a while! How 'bout a match? Show me your moves!" Aragoma Torakichi called out.

"It's pointless, Aragoma – kun! I don't know the game and you'd beat me in 10 seconds or less. One-sided games aren't funny."

"I won't do that, man! I'm a champion!"

"I heard the news that you ended up 3rd in the July tournament."

"Geh!" He gasped.

"I knew it." King Man sighed and rolled his eyes.

"So… Why don't you go prepare for the October tournament and your _revenge match_?" Urakawa tried to shake him off.

"Man. You're no fun."

"Maybe you're a bully?" Omega questioned with some annoyance.

"I ain't a bully!"

"You sound like one." Serenade insisted.

"I knew it." King Man groaned next.

"Sheesh! I'm off this boring town! Farewell!"

"At last." King Man sighed in relief.

He left the system and the group sighed.

"Really! Talk about a bully." Urakawa fumed.

"Now, Mamoru…" Serenade tried to calm him down.

"Maybe the target's in Shibuya… I'll go have a quick check. Later."

"Bullies go home! Now let's get back to work!"

20:40 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. No – one seems to have followed me and nothing seems to be spying on me. I did use Viruses to scan a 1 kilometer radius and there's nothing out of place. I checked the path, the ground, and every square inch of the ground floor… IR and X-Ray reveal nothing… No signals are emitted in any EM spectrum…"

Eisei walked inside of an empty and dusty room in a house somewhere and checked the info displayed on his PET's holographic screen: once he was satisfied he lifted a carpet in the floor to reveal the metallic box with the built-in stairs: he inputted a password on the PET and the thing descended to reveal the basement: he quickly got down while carrying a plastic bag on his left hand and entered the basement's main room: he inputted a new command and the stairs pulled up thus sealing up the basement: he sneered.

"Let's check through the feed beforehand."

He entered the control center and checked the imagery: Enzan had a chain from behind the collar connected to a ring in the wall and it was only three slabs long: the necessary length so that he could reach the hole that was the toilet: Delta and Rafael had been placed side by side on the eastern side of the room while Enzan was close to the NW corner: Enzan was constantly pulling the chain but ended up tiring while the other two (who also had chains keeping their movements limited) merely remained still yet they did rub their shoulders as if to get excited: Eisei chuckled under his breath.

"Serves you well, Ijuuin! Tricking me like that… You really like deceiving others, no? And you're the paranoid type too… You try to appeal as being cool and rational but… What happened in that Ameroupe castle? Heh! Ya suddenly accused without proof Hikari of being the "Gospel" agent and wanted to delete that Rock Man guy even to the point of demoting him to "virus" state… That must be one of the most shameful episodes ever… But number one surely is risking the lives of the people at that party just to try to get info on the WWW hideout from Elec Man… And further wasting the time trying to vent off your incompetence into Rock Man… Like he was to blame for that protection which you took SO long to break through! And like he could've know your plans… People lives' were at stake, man!"

He laughed aloud as if he found the whole deal pathetic or laughable and then drank some pineapple juice.

"Let's see… What could we do? Let's play with Ijuuin first. And then have the guy be fucked by the other 2. Yeah. That'll do. But the _Danna – sama_ gotta be about to call so let's wait for the call… In the meanwhile… Let's check Nico Nico… I was in the midst of watching _Detective Conan: Prelude from the Past…_ Chapter 4… The murder case of the fortune-teller… I'm still gathering clues…" He muttered.

He began to watch the video while distractedly eating some _gyoza_ aligned in a tray: he whistled a tune.

"Hmmm… The fatty guy whose _katana_ is the one at the crime scene and the murder weapon seems TOO obvious… Guess he's red herring set up by the real culprit."

The PET rang so he stopped the video: video feed activated and displayed a man on his late 20s or early 30s with blonde hair and golden eye irises: he had some traces of beard and moustache of some days which he hadn't shaven yet.

"Eisei. How are things over there?"

"I checked the house and the surroundings over and over again but there's nothing out of place. I did properly search."

"Fine. I'll get there in two days' time. Once I finish my trump card. I'll have it ready here in case that woman dares to show up. She'll find something far beyond what she can handle… and die." He snickered.

"Excellent, _Danna – sama_."

"What about the smug brat?"

"Ijuuin? Heh! Powerless to do anything. I'm gonna give him some intense lessons of what happens when ya try to play smart."

"Good, good! Tame the rebels! And make them abandon all hope! Remind them that this is nothing compared to the 9 circles of Hell! They should be grateful of that!" Virus laughed.

"I wonder about that." A voice rang out behind Virus.

"Damn it. You again! You've hijacked a speaker close by!"

"Indeed, Ryuuhei."

"Virus! And I know the fuss you made this morning!"

"Sheesh."

"Eye for an eye! Mata-Hari!"

"Mata-Hari! Me!"

"Irene Adler wannabe!"

"Ryuuhei…!"

"My name's Virus! Virus Daemon! Forever!"

"Don't tell me, Ryuuhei."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Thought you'd figured it out by now."

"Don't have time for that!"

"Yeah. You waste it hiding on _pachinko_ locales, no? Mixing in with the addicts… Or posing as a homeless and joining the homeless camps in the parks too."

"Are you intending to follow me to Hell or what?"

"If that's what it takes…"

"I've never raped any woman!"

"Surely not. You were already gay by middle school and had had some fun there and there with some of your pals. Including one of your two teammates. What was the alias? Ah yeah. "Bragging moron"."

"E~H!" Virus gasped.

"And the other was… "Heavy metal moron"… Yours was "King of Squishing"…" She laughed.

"D-damn it!" He was ashamed by now.

 _Really… What naming sense…_ Eisei inwardly sighed: he seemed to find them stupid as well.

"What next…? Oh yeah. Your first drug was cannabis!"

"Fuck. So what! You still haven't…!"

"The enigma of your disappearances? Hah! You simply picked an underground base or hideout. That's all there's to it!"

"Sheesh."

"Hah! Got you, Ryuuhei!"

"Stop calling me like that! I buried that name long ago!"

"Or so you thought. But you can't run away from it. It'll chase you forever!"

"Like it will! You'll soon be dead, woman!"

"Hmpf! You bark but can't bite!"

"Not yet! But soon enough I'll bite! And you'll regret annoying me in purpose!" Virus growled.

"Hmpf! I wonder about that."

"Play confident all you want! You'll soon die! I'll grant you a quick and painless death! Feel grateful to me!"

"Like I would. What you'll kill instead is your own ego. Anaya's in jail and you haven't even TRIED to rescue her. She must have forgotten you by now. She must only think of revenge on Vadous."

"No way! IQ – sama appointed me Her Grace's best agent!"

"The bitch felt like it! A random mood. Like that of that statue of "Triumph of the Queen"… Or whatever the name was. That statue which actually marked where the second "Palace" was at! And that's how Vadous found you last month!"

"T-that's…!" He gasped.

"So? Who are you going to blame for that statue?"

"T-that's… Hum… IQ – sama… Eh…" He was at a loss for words.

"Just say it. That the bitch had a random mood and a fit of megalomania when she said "I want a statue like all other Queens out there!"… And tried to be subtle… But if anyone knew her name then… They immediately figure out the meaning of that statue… Talk about pathetic. Truly."

"A damned spy isn't qualified to judge Her Grace!"

"And Vadous isn't? That bitch's so-called "elite agent"?"

"GRRRR!" He growled.

"There. Bark like the dog to yank around the chain you are." "Eclipse" laughed again.

"I'LL BURY YOU YET!"

"Time will tell. Ryuuhei."

"Ah, whatever! Get away from me!"

"Fine… I'll leave it at here for now… I look forward to seeing your face in two days from now… Your face of shock and despair when you realize who I am…"

"No! That'll be your face of fear and terror before you DIE!"

The speaker died down and Virus growled something: Eisei remained silent as if he feared he'd be the receiving end of that anger.

"Keep things as they are!"

"R-roger, _Danna – sama_!"

"Don't step into the Cyber World either!"

"Roger!"

"Make sure to stock up some food: I'll surely come there at the evening, tired and hungry."

"I've already begun to do so. Got enough stuff for about 1 week for now but I'll be increasing it." He reported back.

"Good. That's what I want. Someone competent! Keep it up. I need a cold shower. Sheesh. Women! They're all the same!"

"But, _Danna – sama_ … That gal can use that to…"

"Heck. I mean… It's annoying to deal with a female stalker!"

He brusquely shut down the transmission and Eisei sighed.

 _Oh well. Let's get ready to greet the_ Danna – sama _on two days from now… You guys will despair… Before his excellent arts… Heh, heh, heh!_


	13. Chapter 13: Interception

**Chapter 13: Interception**

07:27 AM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 18th…

"… Hah, hah, hah! Piece of a cake! We got 200 million, Commander!"

"They were powerless to stop us!"

"Don't lower the guard. Those guys will surely come intercept us. But we're ready to fight them back!"

"COME AT FULL POWER!"

"Hmpf. There you are."

"Playing bank robbers, huh? How the mighty have fallen!"

The Z – Militia trio of Moonlight, Sunlight and Kratins Boo ran off through a hole in a firewall labelled "MEGA NET BANK": they were met with Sigma, Blood Shadow and Omega but they weren't surprised.

"Heh! Now you'll feel the fear! Go for it! You 2!"

"Roger!"

"No cheat tricks this time around! Hrah!"

"Eat shotgun!"

"Like it'll work! Hah!"

"Slow!"

Sigma tried to tackle Sunlight but he jumped to the right and dodged: Blood Shadow shot a blast from his shotgun at Moonlight but she jumped over it: Omega had begun shooting plasma rounds at Kratins Boo but they bounced off something before they could hit him.

"We can learn and grow! I've got an EM field!"

"Whatever."

"Hah! You're but a gorilla!" Sunlight taunted.

"Hah! You're a perv!" Sigma grinned.

"Yeah! Don't forget that, you moron!" Moonlight fumed.

"And there you said you evolve." Blood Shadow drily taunted Kratins Boo.

"Grrr… BEHAVE~!" He roared.

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Fight like the military you are!"

"R-roger, sir!"

"DON'T WORSEN MY MOOD!"

"Y-yes, sir! Hah! Twilight Chaos! We've upgraded it!"

"Oh shit."

Both Sigma and Blood Shadow jumped to dodge as Moonlight and Sunlight clasped their left and right hands together and formed a golden spheroid of energy which began to shoot smaller spheroids from its outer mass: they exploded when hitting something solid and apparently turned the terrain into a random type of "stage": some panels became Magma Stage, others Ocean Stage, Grass Stage, Sand Stage, Ice Stage, Metal Stage and Poison Stage: Sigma and Blood Shadow landed on the ground but hovered above it: they weren't surprised.

"Oi. We've got Float Shoes in the Navi Customizer." Sigma grumbled.

"What was that about learning?" Blood Shadow fumed.

"Oh crap." They gasped.

"I can't believe you forgot THAT." Kratins Boo groaned.

"… Careful. It might be some acting to make us lower the guard. Attack that thing NOW!" Omega ordered.

"Roger that! Demon Laser!"

"Charged shotgun shot!"

Sigma's eyes sparkled with red light and he then began to emit two thick laser beams that hit and began to heat up the spheroid: it turned red as Blood Shadow's attack hit it: the spheroid suddenly grew in size as both enemies let go of it and jumped away at some distance: the growth began to accentuate and it sucked up everything around it.

"We got inspired by "The Thing"!"

"What "The Thing"?"

"Heh! Ask your beloved Professor Mortimer!"

"So you mean it's based on something that showed up in one of the _Blake & Mortimer_ comic-books." Omega fumed.

"It's melting everything around it!" Sigma spotted.

"The road included." Blood Shadow added.

"Wait. If it melts the road then…?" Sunlight frowned.

"You moron! It'll fall! Why didn't you think of that?"

"Because in the comic…"

"That's because it was travelling across concrete ground! Its temperature wasn't high enough to melt concrete but enough to melt armored steel: you idiot! And that idea of adding a vacuum cleaner – like suction ability is stupid too!" Moonlight scolded.

"I thought that it'd terrorize the enemy!"

"You're so incompetent. Really." Kratins Boo growled.

"W-we're sorry, sir!"

The "thing" suddenly melted the ground it was standing on and fell into the abyss: Kratins Boo growled and signaled it with his left hand as he held the gun with the right one and was trying to hit Omega with his laser blast: both saluted and dived there followed by Blood Shadow and Sigma: Kratins Boo suddenly formed a real-world Vulcan gun and roared as he shot it at Omega: he merely jumped off the road and used jets on his boots' soils to fly into the underside of the road Kratins Boo was at: he silently cut a circle and pulled the piece out to emerge behind him: Kratins Boo whipped around and tried to shoot the Vulcan but it was out of ammo by now: Omega sliced the barrel in half and Kratins Boo deleted it to resume using his usual gun: he began to shoot quick and short blasts but Omega could predict them all: Kratins Boo suddenly smirked and Omega narrowed his eyes as if he foresaw something: Kratins Boo formed the knife, aimed into the air, and shot it as if it was a missile: Omega merely used his jets to fly higher and then dropped into the knife to bounce off its surface as if it was a platform: Kratins Boo gasped and formed another but Omega saw it coming and shot a "Sonic Boom" that sliced it on half: Kratins Boo grumbled and jumped a couple meters away.

"Sheesh. I was close!"

"I wonder 'bout that."

"Bah. At least that aberration should be enough to set the whole world in fear… A monster out control which can't be destroyed! It'll only grow bigger with any attack you throw at it: including portable nuclear grenades!" He smirked.

"Oh yeah? I think you're forgetting something."

"What was that?"

"Everything has a limit. Even that thing. Right, Boss?"

"Yeah. I'm still having a quick look across the comics to see if I can find it and figure out its weakness…"

"Damn it all. I shouldn't have let them say that!"

"Too late to regret. Cretin." Omega smirked.

"KRATINS BOO!"

"Found it. "The Time Trap"… Hum, hum. Mortimer tries out a time machine left behind by an evil scientist yet it's been sabotaged so that the pilot can't control the age it'll travel to. Mortimer ends up in the 51st century and meets up with the leader of a resistance movement to fight the global regime… Develops those grenades… And when they're about to win the government send that monster to finish them off… It's got some kind of control system that allows it to trace signals… And traces an emitter… Mortimer sticks it to a uranium rod and inserts it into a fission reactor… The monster, which can easily shift-shape, enters the reactor and so… He turns it on and has the monster absorb up the whole of the energy generated by the reactor… And it ends up blowing up because it overcomes its limits. So what we need is to find the means to feed up with a lot of energy in a short time to overload it." Vadous read.

"Devil." Kratins Boo cursed.

"Hmmm… Maybe we can use a rail gun or something like to shoot a concentrated laser beam of high voltage… Its mass and energy would be constantly absorbed as the thing crawls towards it…"

"OK. I'll give out the orders."

"We're not done yet!"

"Huff, huff! Of course not! I'll beat ya!"

"Hah! Those two are putting up a desperate struggle!"

Moonlight and Sunlight, having some blows and wounds, returned to that area and got into combat stance: Omega merely shrugged and crouched before looking up: he dashed across the air in a blur and past Kratins Boo: his attack formed cuts on the sides of their bodies and they turned around to face Omega: Kratins Boo shot the grenades followed by the array of missiles and the laser beam: Omega dashed towards those and let them hit him as his blade glowed crimson and suddenly jumped into the air to stab it through Kratins Boo's chest armor: he growled and drew the knife which he shot and it stabbed into Omega's body yet he ignored that: his blade turned redder as well and it suddenly emerged from behind Kratins Boo: he growled and tried to activate a black grenade but Omega quickly drew his gun and shot it off his hand and had it fall into the abyss: Moonlight began to shoot a Super Vulcan at Omega's back while Sunlight was slashing with a Wide Sword but Omega ignored those: he jumped off Kratins Boo, flipped into the air, and landed in the opposite road crossing over the gap: there was a detonation further below and a shockwave ensued for an instant: Omega smirked and Kratins Boo growled as he clutched his chest with the right hand.

"Damn it. My anti-matter grenade destroyed the thing down there!"

"Desperate attempts lead to bad ends. Let's put an end to this farce: you guys go back to the brig. Your turn!"

Omega jumped off the road just as a powerful shockwave which glowed in all of the rainbow colors swept across the road: it hit the trio and they began to turn into stone: the shockwave soon died down and Tabuu flew down from above: Omega (who'd gripped into the underside of the road) jumped back there and nodded in agreement.

"Good. Contact the Officials. We gotta disarm them and lock them up while the paralysis works. But we've got 20 hours at the least."

"Now High – Max is left… But I guess Rock Man will handle the guy or Beta X will… Maybe between the 2 of them." Vadous commented.

"Fine. Better that guy than these guys. Good luck, guys!"

11:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Mugro~h!"

"What was that? Gate Man."

"Dunno, Meijin."

"Bring out that damned blue BUG!"

"That's High – Max… I see. He used his military codes to slip inside."

"Hum. Maybe we could buy some time?"

"Sure. Let's go the "loop" strategy."

"Roger that. Gate Cannon!"

"Hah! Frail! I'll SQUISH YOU!"

"Remote Gate."

"HUH? Where'd he go to?"

"Devil Hand!"

"Grah! What?"

Gate Man had been working into something on Meijin's PC when a growl rang out: he checked security imagery and spotted High – Max running around and hitting the ground while roaring: he calmly stepped out into the main hall and shot his Gate Cannon at High – Max from behind: it bounced off his armor but it did get his attention: High – Max rushed for him while loading up energy on the right fist but Gate Man merely formed his Remote Gate and stepped into it to disappear: he showed up behind him and flung the Demon Hand at his neck to grip it: High – Max cursed and turned around while trying to pull the arm but Gate Man let go of it, entered the Remote Gate, and warped again: High – Max growled again and began to randomly hit the floor: some ice shards suddenly flew across the air and produced some cuts to his armor so he gasped and found Beta X to be there: Beta X had a serious look to him.

"You came! Fine! I'll make you pay for your treason too!" High – Max hissed.

"How stubborn. That wasn't treason. The org was gone. I belonged to no org anymore."

"Shut up! The Syndicate lives on forever!"

"It was but a pale imitation of the "Secret Empire". And it fell as well. You had it coming too. You're no better than Anaya." "Eclipse" suddenly taunted yet her Navi avatar was nowhere to be seen and her voice echoed from everywhere at once.

"She's hijacked the speakers. We should've put more defenses to them but no – one bothered to. Sheesh." Meijin sighed.

"Shut up, you outsider! I'll dispose of you later!"

"I'm not here to begin with. Try finding me. Gorilla Man."

"Damn them all!"

Beta X shrugged and jumped into the air to dash and shoot some electrical bolts at High – Max: he suddenly made them coil around his right forearm and focused them on his fist: he dashed towards Beta X but he formed a "Lightning Rod" Battle Chip and it absorbed the electricity: Beta X then began to use a flamethrower and it began to melt the fingers' armor: High – Max cursed as he flew upwards and suddenly dropped towards the ground while building up energy on the air below his feet: Beta X merely remained air-bone and waited for the guy to crash upon the ground: a violent shockwave ensued but no – one got damaged: High – Max looked up and let out a string of curses once he realized Beta X had been in the air the whole time.

"You didn't have that ability before!"

"Who says I can't upgrade my abilities?"

"Damn it. I thought you lacked the intelligence to do that!"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME AN IDIOT?" He got annoyed.

"A fool! Who'll die as a dog! DIE~!"

"Mugen Vulcan! HRA~H!"

"Ugro~h!"

"Ah! Rock Man. Just in time. I owe you one."

"Don't mind it. You'll pay that back to me one day."

"Heh. Sorry for that. I just happened to turn annoyed."

"That was the guy's goal."

Rock Man had shot the Mugen Vulcan Program Advance at High – Max's face and momentarily stunned him as he landed right next to Beta X while having the gun drawn and aimed: both faced forward as High – Max recovered and smirked.

"Good! I'll crush both of you at the same time! I've got a new weapon I developed using Master Caesar's notes!"

"Don't think so. It's a weapon made by Virus and he fooled you so that you'd use him and gather combat data for him."

"WHAT?"

"That bastard wasn't a specialist in weapons to begin with!"

"Damn. How could I forget?"

"Virus altered some of your memory files to make you act like an idiot to begin with. To be a grunt, a distraction, mere brute force." Zarashe merely replied.

"No way!"

"Way." Netto added.

"I'll delete you all!"

"You will try." Rock Man taunted.

"And you will fail." Beta X smirked.

High – Max suddenly rushed for them as he regenerated his right fist's armor and also brought forth the left fist: energy began to build as he travelled across the air for the opponents yet they dodged and jumped to some distance: High – Max sneered and shot two wide "Sonic Boom" from his fists before forming Giga Cannon guns on each forearm: he loaded them up and shot them at Rock Man and Beta X: they didn't see them coming since they'd ducked to dodge the "Sonic Boom": the attacks impacted them and they groaned but didn't stop running away to put some distance: High – Max laughed and spawned Spark Bee Viruses that chased them and began to shoot lightning bolts at them: both Navis managed to delete those but they'd unconsciously headed for each other so they collided head-on: High – Max began to close on them and grinned.

"Area Steal!" Both Operators announced.

"No!"

Both Navis warped away from harm's way and High – Max let out of a growl of frustration as they reappeared 6 meters south of his position: they'd already recovered too.

"Did you think we'd just sit there and do nothing?"

"You don't understand the role of the Operator."

"Navis don't need those! They only need orders!"

"Discuss that with Yamato Man and Dark Man." Rock Man shot back.

"Let's get back to business!" Beta X drew his Buster.

"Damned interloper mice! Be exterminated!"

"Netto – kun: we'll soon use the trump card. Have it ready. On my signal… Gotcha?" Rock Man whispered.

"OK." Netto whispered back.

"You know, Beta. Warp away on my signal." Zarashe instructed.

"Roger that."

"No petty strategies will save you!"

"You're the one who's petty." Meijin sighed.

"This guy's too stubborn for his own sake." Gate Man sighed next.

"You only run away!"

"I was buying time."

"I'll crush you too!"

"Objection. Go, Gate Soldiers!"

"Gate! Gate! Gate!"

The Gate Soldiers flew across the air and began to land on High – Max's body to start poking there and there: he got annoyed and began to try to shake them off: Beta X ran into the Remote Gate so that he and Gate Man could evacuate the area: Rock Man merely seemed to get ready.

"Soul Unison, Vadous Soul! Slot In!"

Rock Man's chest emblem began to shine and his body was surrounded by a purple-colored mass of energy: streams of purplish light began to jump out of his body next.

The light dimmed to reveal how Rock Man had gained a new purple armor with black patterns over his bodysuit.

His helmet had gained a terrific-looking faceplate two crimson-colored hexagons were set over the eyes while the nose and the mouth were covered by a triangular piece which had a matrix of vertical and horizontal straight lines on it the design of which looked reminiscent of a gas mask's filter.

The armor included a black metallic belt with a round central point having the Hikari family crest drawn into it plus two decorated sword sheaths attached to both sides of it.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Net Police. I find your lack of faith disturbing." Rock Man taunted.

"Whatever. A mere disguise won't defeat me! Die as a fool!"

"CHAOS BEAM!"

The "Chaos Beam" turned out to be a highly concentrated beam of blackish energy which shook the air on its wake and opened a crevice on the ground: the "Chaos Beam" then impacted High – Max and continued past him: High – Max roared as his armor got deleted and revealed a lighter armor beneath it: he lost the ability to float and collapsed into the ground as Rock Man's beam began to lose power and dissolved: Rock Man waved his right hand and a ghostly gray "infinity" symbol formed over High – Max's chest: his body got trapped inside of a ghostly pinkish energy field and he stopped moving altogether: Rock Man panted as his form reverted to normal and wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Phew. We managed to disable the guy. Virus will soon come out."

"Yeah… Virus… The rascal…! Wait there, guys! We'll soon free you!"

 _Speaking of showing up… "Eclipse" has fled the area too…_

 _That can come later, Netto – kun… Let's go have a proper rest!_

21:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… PHEW! I'm finally here."

"Welcome back, _Danna – sama_."

"Is everything under control, Eisei?"

"It is. By the way… What about the ace-in-the-hole?"

"Hah! Left it parked behind the building on the yard… And hidden with a special kind of camouflage…"

"I see."

"Tomorrow I'll use it to crush that woman… And Vadous too… I'm sure the guy will soon close on this location too…"

"What I'm supposed to do then?"

"You'll flee into the "Palace" and wait for orders. Have it ready to jump into HEO. If something happens to me… Don't try to come free me because they'll expect you to. Wait a while there and once Vadous is forced to go to the other front… You strike!"

"Roger that."

Virus (wearing a sleeveless white shirt, jeans with a black leather belt and sandals) was talking with Eisei inside of the hideout's main room: Eisei merely stood there and listened to what Virus said as the man sat down on a chair and sighed: he left a backpack on the floor to his right.

"The slaves have behaved?"

"Of course. Not like they can resist. Those 2 are practically real slaves by now. Ijuuin takes more effort and I'm making sure to properly punish the guy yet he's stubborn." He reported.

"Bah. Whatever. At least we can make those 2 hate Ijuuin: the guy wanted that so badly, anyway… The guy's so hot-blooded and reckless! Hah! Like when he tried to get the glory of catching that "Professor" old man but got beaten by that Sword Man!"

"Oh yeah. That's right, _Danna – sama_!"

"Heh. I'm a genius… And that damned woman will soon regret having challenged me so openly… Keep an eye on the sensors."

"Roger that. Here's the brig key." He handed him the key.

"Good! I'm gonna pick Ijuuin and have fun with the guy. You go check all the sensors and figure out if there's any gap in the records. Doesn't matter if it's 1 second or less: report it to me immediately!"

"Roger!"

Eisei let for the control room while Virus chuckled and opened the brig: he unchained Enzan from the wall and placed him atop the tray: he left him outside while he loomed over Delta and Rafael: he sneered and crushed Delta's balls with his right foot followed by Rafael's: they both seemed to feel a shiver go down their spines and their cocks got hard: Virus inwardly laughed and exited the room, locking it again.

 _Eisei's done a neat job! The guy might be a Navi imitator that I created but does the job in a proper manner! I'm so lucky that that guy bothered to leave a backup of the real Eisei's memories in a hidden server in Normandy…! I uploaded those into the Navi and so he can behave and think like the real one! Heh, heh. Luck can smile at me from time to time…! Now… Let's have fun with this guy… This guy's old man gave me so many headaches last month…!_

He placed the hook on Enzan's back and lifted him: he secured the chain once he'd placed Enzan horizontally on the air and facing south: Virus stuffed a string of anal beads on his ass and quickly stuffed his thick cock inside next: Enzan seemed to inwardly shudder and groan while Virus chuckled aloud.

"Been a while, Ijuuin! Your old man gave me some trouble… Yeah! It's me, Virus Daemon! Your worst nightmare… You thought Eisei didn't have what it took to properly tame you… So I'll do it instead! You shouldn't have tried to play smart… Because now you're paying the price of that foolishness and that recklessness! Brought forth by your hot-blooded nature… Break through the protection? Why not circle around it and find a spot where it wasn't so strong? That's why Rock Man got to Elec Man ahead of you despite the obstacles… Heh, heh, heh!" He chuckled.

He began to move Enzan forward and back while gripping Enzan's balls with the left hand and slowly crushing them: Enzan seemed to keep on inwardly groaning and his cock hardened: Virus laughed and further gripped the balls.

"So you like it, eh? You're becoming a masochist too… I'll make sure to have fun with you tonight…"

"Sorry to interrupt, _Danna_ – _sama_ , but…" Eisei came in.

"There was a discrepancy or a lag in one sensor?"

"Yeah. The furthest of them, 975 meters SSE from here… It's an IR sensor… It stopped working for 3.7 seconds before fixing itself… Apparently caused by a leaf dropping atop it and then blown away by the wind…" He explained.

"Heh! That woman must want to have a position from where she can spy on us. Keep on checking the sensors. There should be another one 900 meters away so… That woman's got a 75 meter radius to use as camping spot from which to spy on us… Don't come out. Pretend you haven't noticed… The woman is not stupid. Must've noticed the sensor: so they won't dare to come any closer."

"Roger that."

Eisei headed back into the control room while Virus grumbled under his breath: he fumed and resumed raping Enzan: he quickly got back into his cocky mood and released inside of Enzan's ass: he then placed a rotating dildo there and spun Enzan: he lifted the bag to reveal his forcibly opened mouth so he stuffed his cock inside and began to force him to follow his pace.

"Suck it up. That's the only thing a piece of meat like you can do. Or should we say… merchandise like you?" He sneered.

He continued moving his head until he released and filled up his mouth: he stepped back and watched how the stuff slid down Enzan's jaw and into the ground.

"You look so miserable: it's fitting! Now let's see… How else can I punish you like…? I know!"

He lowered Enzan into the ground and began to deliver some kicks to his balls: Enzan tried to crawl away but was unable to do since the ground was concrete and it hurt his skin: Virus laughed and released the hook to then make Enzan stand on his knees: he picked a nearby lit candle and began to drop wax into his cock's length: Enzan shuddered.

"This is a good punishment… Feel the pain… This pain will haunt you forever!"

"Eh… I've got a new report."

"Good job. So?"

"The aerial camera reveals a camping tent colored black… There's no light inside… Our subject seems to have brought a telescope along to be able to properly watch the building from afar…"

EIsei returned to report to Virus: he looked like he was expecting all of that given his broad smug grin.

"I knew it. Oh well. Remember: don't do anything. Pretend we haven't noticed. And keep that camera there to control what happens… Activate its antenna too, so that we can pick up any transmission made. There are no phone lines close to that tent's position so all data has to be wirelessly sent. Begin by trying to pick the phone's carrier signal. I know we won't be able to intercept phone call content but at least we can figure out the phone's ID and look it up on registers."

"I'll have it done ASAP!"

"Good. I'm counting on you!"

"Roger!"

"Now, where we at…? Oh yeah. THIS!"

He suddenly crushed Enzan's cock with the right foot and Enzan arched his body due to the sudden surge of pain: Virus chuckled and began to drop some wax across Enzan's upper body while pulling the ring of the nipples' clothes pegs.

"Heh, heh, heh! Exquisite pain, no? Feel more of it! More! That pain will overwhelm you and wrap you! At first… Eventually… You'll begin to feel good… And you'll beg for more of it… More of it! Like a drug! You won't be able to live without it! And then I'll deny you the pain… So that your "pride" crumbles and you crawl across the ground like a worm and beg to me… Guess Eisei said the same at the start but… I'm another tale! IQ – sama chose me because I made all other _amateurs_ in the clubs shudder in front of my skills! I make sure to humiliate you guys… To destroy your pride and self! To make you addicts to sex and pain! Hah!"

He delivered a kick to the stomach area and made Enzan lowered his body in instinct as if trying to protect that area: Virus pushed the dildo further inside with his right foot and Enzan inwardly groaned: Virus pulled him up by tossing away the bag and grabbing his hair: he then punched his nose with the left fist.

"Heh! How's this like? Starting to give away? Heh!"

" _Danna – sama_ , a new report… That woman's phone uses that damned mixed encoding system and seems to connect to a military-reserved frequency so that she can escape detection by phone companies: but that doesn't mean she's military." Eisei reported next.

"Sheesh. How annoying! Whatever. Stop monitoring: any other data emitted from there will be equally encoded to begin with. It's not worth the effort. I'm going to have a shower. Leave this guy on the cell and set him to be fucked: needs it."

"OK!"

Virus let go of Enzan's head and he headed into the restroom while Eisei pulled out the urethra vibrator and had him release: Enzan fainted so Eisei put the bag back on him before moving him into the cell: he picked Delta and Rafael and had them sit on their knees: he hardened their cocks and placed a small chain making them be glued to each other: he then lowered Enzan into their cocks so that he'd be doubly penetrated: Eisei sneered and turned on the dildos he'd placed into the guys' asses: they began to shudder as they made their cocks slide in and out of Enzan's ass: Eisei merely stood there and rubbed his cock to then force Enzan to suck it up as well.

 _Heh! I've improved a foursome. Talk about original. Heh, heh. Oh well: this is my way of saying bye to these guys. Tomorrow I gotta leave. But I've succeeded into turning these 2 into total masochists. I can't wait to see Akashi and Tomono's reactions! Heh, heh, heh!_

He released inside of Enzan's mouth while the other 2 guys also released inside of his ass: Eisei unplugged him again and let him release again to then place a cloth over his mouth: Enzan fainted and Eisei placed him on his usual position while he left the other 2 like that.

 _Have fun rubbing your cocks together all night long! I'm a genius!_


	14. Chapter 14: Warhammer

**Chapter 14: Warhammer**

07:04 AM (Japan Time), Friday August the 19th…

"… So this is the place. An abandoned villa some kilometers away from the city of… Futaba. But I'm sure Virus had this place ever since some years ago… He picked it because it was conveniently forgotten and isolated…"

"So it'd seem, Boss. What do we do? It's riddled with sensors."

"Bah. The guy's expecting me to begin with. I'll step into the guy's trap. You free the hostages and disable Eisei. Don't delete the guy."

"I know, Boss."

"Good. Blood and Sigma: remain on standby and wait for our signal. We might need you as well."

"Roger that!"

Vadous and Omega were looking at a villa built atop a hill overlooking some overgrown fields and a small river: the building was 2 floors tall but it looked decadent and abandoned: some low-height fog was present on the area.

"Hmmm? Look there, Boss… A camping tent…" Omega signaled.

In effect: a black camping tent had been placed near the edge of the nearby forest: Omega seemingly scanned it.

"Has recent heat imprints… Someone was there until a little while ago and I'd stake anything it's "Eclipse"…"

"Sure thing. I'm not about to search a woman's tent because I don't want to be called a pervert. Let's focus on the matter at hand. We go there and Virus will surely challenge me. You, in the meanwhile, search the house and free them. Tell them now's not the time to discuss and that'll come later. Send them to the town. Then meet up with me."

"Roger that. Hmmm? I'm picking an increasing heat signature on the back on the villa… It's not a normal signature… Some kind of huge machine… This kind of heat increase… A fusion reactor! Just like the ones we own!"

"So Virus has something that operates using a fusion reactor, huh? Fine. We'll soon see what it is." Vadous wasn't too surprised.

They calmly walked up the hill and stopped in front of the outer perimeter door: Omega pushed it open and they entered the hall of the house since the door was ajar: the hall was dusty and abandoned and no – one had bothered to clean it for a long time.

"I'm going straight for the back-yard. Look for prints or some spot without so much dust. I'd stake anything that there's a basement. There must be an access close by. Or else try to locate a signal receiver."

"OK."

Vadous crossed past the living room as Omega remained to inspect it: Omega found that there was a space in the ground without too much dust and lifted a cover to reveal the stairs: he then accessed the signal receiver and inputted some commands.

"I'll make it believe it's an emergency."

The stairs lowered and Omega accessed the main room: he wasn't too surprised to see a wooden horse there and other sex-related stuff: he headed for the brig door: he drew the saber and calmly cut the whole lock mechanism out of place to open the door: he entered and broke Delta's restrains: he took off the bag, the blindfold and the device keeping his mouth open: Delta opened his eyes and they took a while to gain their usual brightness: he began to articulate the mouth but he was having difficulty speaking.

"Take it easy. Your systems have been shut down for many days. Huh? I see. A password… 36 characters? Hmmm… 36… Ah. I see. All Alphabet letters in order plus the first 10 numbers ranging from 0 to 9… A simple one if you stop to think about it."

He released Rafael next and he began to reactive his sight and speaking: Omega released Enzan last: he blinked and coughed as he also tried to speak.

"Don't force yourselves. Having that thing keeping your mouth forcibly open so many days is no little deal."

"… Raf? So it was you?" Delta asked Rafael.

"T-that's my motto!" Rafael gasped.

"… So… That woman told you where this was at?" Enzan asked.

"Huh? Whoa! Ijuuin – kun too!"

"… Yeah." He looked elsewhere.

"Huh?" Both frowned.

"Explanations later. I'm bringing you guys to town. Boss is handling the rascal so let's use this chance."

"What about Eisei?" Enzan asked.

"Isn't here. I've scanned the surroundings."

"What's with the guy? Why didn't chloroform work?"

"Because he's just like Delta and Rafael: a Navi in the real world."

"Damn it. And here I was thinking he had his own restroom and that was why I never saw him use the one out there."

"How do you…?" Both began to ask.

"I said - LATER." Omega icily warned.

Both gulped and nodded as they managed to stand up: their bodysuits formed over their bodies again while Enzan searched inside of a cardboard box and found his usual clothes to be there so he dressed up: Omega signaled the stairs and they headed upwards: they then heard machinegun fire followed by the hum of a laser.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah!" Virus laughed.

"… Let's have a look. Maybe it's too much for Boss to handle, even."

The group looked out into the backyard and gasped upon seeing the panorama.

"By all the…"

There was a gigantic robot easily over 7 meters tall colored in a golden color: it had two large tubes in place of arms, some tubes forming on the body that could be some kind of guns, a focus mounted over the right shoulder and a missile launcher with 6 missiles capacity over the left shoulder: it currently was shooting a machinegun around and Vadous was trying to dodge.

"This is the power of the Warhammer! One of the best Battle Mechs!"

"I was expecting a robot but not this mole!" He cursed aloud.

"I've got an EM field that protects me from your plasma attacks! And from your anti-matter "doubles" too!"

"Anti-matter!" The other 3 gasped.

"Chut. It's confidential!" Omega scolded.

"R-roger that."

"The Warhammer! Equipped with 2 Particle Projector Cannons, 2 Martell Medium Lasers, 2 Magna Small Lasers, a Holly Short Range Missiles V6 and 2 Sperry Browning Machineguns! It's ideal to fight against all types of 'Mechs and against infantry! And you're such infantry! I'll have fun CRUSHING you! I laugh at REX! This thing would immediately turn it into a pool of molten alloys!" He laughed.

"Fuck." Vadous cursed.

He was focused on dodging the fire from both machineguns followed by the 2 small lasers which drew patterns across the ground: Omega was seemingly studying it and trying to find a weakness: the missile launcher activated and 6 missiles shot towards them so Omega gasped and dashed into the yard and to the east to lure them away from the others: he quickly drew the plasma gun and shot them: they exploded and Omega sighed in relief yet, suddenly, one of the medium lasers impacted him and easily cut through his body: he crouched and clutched his chest.

"Damn it. Luckily I came with my Navi body and not my robot body. That could've made the power core blow up. That thing's no joke. Thought that other robot was serious but this one…! And we can't use the same trick we used here… Sheesh. Talk about annoying."

"Omega! What do we do?" Delta asked over the radio.

"Get away! We've got Blood and Sigma as backup, anyway. Don't involve anyone else: this thing's deadly! For real! FLEE!" He ordered.

"R-roger!" Rafael gulped.

"Let's go!" Enzan told them.

"Bah! Flee! I care not! I can always find new preys elsewhere across the nation to begin with. Once I CRUSH you with this mole!" Virus laughed.

"Can you move? Omega?"

"Yeah, gimme a minute… There, self-repair completed… Now… How do we get rid of that field?"

"I'm trying to think of something. We could use Tabuu but we can't become totally dependent on the guy: he might not be able to help us one day. So we need something else!"

"Hmmm… I've got a plan… Summer."

"Summer…? Ah! I see! Good enough. Let's try out."

"OK."

"Whatever your plot is FUTILE!"

"I wonder about that, Ryuuhei."

"So you showed up! As expected! I'll turn you into a hornet nest as well and get rid of your damned stalking!"

"If you can find me, that is."

"Of course I can! You're using a speaker but perimeter sensors tell me you're 50 meters away NNW!" Virus laughed.

"Hmpf. But maybe you're forgetting Rule 2B?"

"Rule 2B?"

"… "No man under my command will be allowed to kill a woman. Only another woman is authorized to."…" "Eclipse" quoted.

"Oh shit. I forgot about that!" He gasped.

"Maybe you're getting senile. Just like Snake."

"GRRRRRR! Whatever! I'll just find a better hideout!" Virus grumbled, improvising.

"If you can, that is."

"Of course I can! I've escaped your damned stalking several times already: I can do it AGAIN and AGAIN!"

"Fine. Time will tell, Ryuuhei."

"VIRUS DAEMON!"

"Force me to say it."

"SHEESH!"

"Magma Seed! Hell's Burner! Flame Sword! Fire Punch! Burn Square! Shooting Star Shower!"

Omega suddenly began to attack with Flame Attribute Battle Chips: he began by creating a Magma Stage and then shooting attacks at it to spread flames and make its temperature rise: Virus laughed as he lifted the right arm and began to load up the cannon: a thin bluish beam shot for Omega and he barely dodged as it easily cut through a nearby steel container containing debris.

"Useless! I'm INVINCIBLE~!"

"Sheesh." Omega grumbled.

"Keep it up…" Vadous whispered.

"OK! Heat Dragon! Heat Body! Meteors!"

"Useless, useless! Eat cannons! And eat lasers!"

Virus aimed both arm cannons at them and they barely dodged the attacks: he shot the medium lasers next and had fun drawing the _kanji_ "shi" or "death" in the ground: the robot began to smoke and whim in the meanwhile but he didn't seem to notice that.

"You play with fire you get burnt!" Virus laughed.

"That's OUR motto."

"Hah, hah, hah! Die! Fire…! WHAT!"

The machine suddenly began to whine and the black smoke increased: the howl of a siren could be heard coming out from the cabin: a hatch opened and steam came out: they heard coughing and spotted Virus leaning his upper body on the edge of the hatch: Omega wasted not a second and quickly climbed up the body of the robot to reach the hatch: he pulled Virus' sleeveless shirt and lifted him out of the cabin to then warp him and Virus to ground level: Vadous took out a couple of handcuffs and handcuffed him as Virus coughed.

"All machines have a problem named "overheating"… We triggered it!"

"D-damn it… Forgot that… 'Mechs have trouble venting off… heat…! And that was a trick in one of the battles...! In Stackpole's trilogy…!" He cursed between coughs.

"These handcuffs are like Bat-man's: made of a special fiber which is very hard to break. And the lock's cybernetic too: and linked to my vitals too. So they won't open unless I want them too. I'm sure that even Lupin the 3rd would have it hard breaking these." Vadous announced.

"How the mighty have fallen, Ryuuhei."

"Eclipse!"

"Now… Remember me?"

"E~H! MISA~?"

"Yes. Me. Toba Misa."

A woman walked into the yard.

She was on her 30s and had brown hair that reached until her shoulders allowing with brown eye irises.

She simply wore a sleeveless jacket, a blue sweater, jeans, white socks and mountain boots.

She also carried a blue and purple PET with no emblem on her right hand but it was turned off.

"Yes! Your stepsister. Daughter of Toba Mitsuru, who remarried with your father. We met when you were 14. 2 years later you ran away from home. You always called "boring woman" and tried to ignore me. So I interpreted that as a challenge. To become an "interesting woman"… And this is why I've kept on your trail… To make you regret your words… And to humiliate you as well…"

"Can't believe it!" He gasped.

"Believe it, Ryuuhei. It's all over."

"Over? Far from it! Eisei's out there, waiting for the chance! It'll never be over! And even less if that freak's still out there!"

"Freak?" Toba wondered.

"Nebula Grey…" Omega grumbled.

"Ah yes. Dr. Regal's creation. It grew an AI of its own and loves to stir up trouble there and there…"

"Yeah. We gotta locate that thing before it starts a war."

"And hope it's the real one and not a copy too!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! Have at ya!" Virus laughed.

"Laugh while you still can. You'll soon be holed up in a brig. And regarding Eisei… I know how to find the guy."

"Hah! Like you would!"

"If not I'll lure him out."

"The guy's not stupid!"

"So it'd seem."

"He'll sneak out to somewhere else!" Virus snickered.

"So what. My collaborators there will catch the guy."

"But before that…!"

"Boss. Colonel Talos is calling." Omega told him.

"What does he say?"

"That Colonel Thunderbolt saw through a trap intended for him in Moscow and which this rascal here set up…"

"WHAT? Impossible!"

"You underestimate the opponent. As usual."

"But Thunderbolt's just an imbecile!"

"The guy knew you'd try to use him to stage up some scandal. So he's been on his guard." Vadous dully replied.

"Damn it all! That was supposed to bring down those guys!"

"Just because 1 officer is involved in a scandal that doesn't mean the whole org is guilty. They're not a political party."

"Sheesh! It was perfect!"

"Oh yeah. And now you'll say you're perfect as well. _Cliché_!"

"Damn them all! IQ – sama will reign again!"

"Doubt it. I made sure to deplete her secret money accounts. And I'll soon deplete yours too."

"You damned thief!"

"I'm not thief. I merely placed some safeties to make it harder for Anaya to try to start the whole deal again."

"You damned traitor mice!"

"So what. You're also one, no? Not even TRYING to save her."

"Like I'd walk straight into a trap!"

"I don't think Anaya would like that reply either."

"Sheesh!"

"Hmpf. It serves you well, Ryuuhei." Toba commented.

"Misa…!"

"Be careful with that tongue of yours, Ryuuhei. Anaya might be listening and her anger might be on the rise."

"GHTDSHTKDHSGN!" He growled something undecipherable.

"Oh. So you've learnt Esperanto too. Bravo." She made a mock applause and snickered.

"Esperanto? Oh come on." Vadous didn't like the joke.

"What are you intending to do?" Omega questioned.

"Go back to my job. Maybe I'll keep an eye on Ryuuhei here to make sure he doesn't attempt a James Bond stunt."

"Like I would! They're all so exaggerated!"

"Including the fight with Peter Franks on that elevator? _Diamond Are Forever_ , remember? "My God! You killed James Bond!"…"

"HMPF! Leave me alone, Bond _otaku_!"

"Fine. It'll be fun to see you punished for getting into brawl like you were back in middle school. You left both of your parents so desolate and devastated… You truly deserve this."

"Hmpf!"

"See you guys around."

"One warning, though. I still don't trust you. Don't try to poke around for classified info. Some stuff is better off not known, Toba!" Vadous warned her.

"Fair enough. Time will tell!"

"Is that you catchphrase or what?" Omega fumed.

"Maybe yea maybe nay. Ask Miss Moneypenny." She snickered.

"How funny." The three men (Virus included) grumbled.

Toba giggled and left the area: they heard the sound of a chopper and a Net Police chopper landed in the yard now that the heat had died down: four SWAT officers jumped down followed by Superintendent Manabe.

"Hioki Ryuuhei! You're under arrest!"

"Virus Daemon! Damn it!"

"Why should I do that?" Manabe shrugged.

"I'll drop by the HQ later. I need to take care of some small things. And those cuffs won't open without my permission so, for now, there's no risk of escape." Vadous told them.

"Good enough. I guess we can send him straight to prison. It'd be safer that way."

"Arrange for heavy security. I'd say you keep the guy in special regime and don't let him interact with other prisoners. He's the type to start up fights to begin with." Vadous suggested.

"I understand."

"Get your hands off me! Rascals!" Virus growled.

The officers played deaf and brought Virus aboard the chopper: he was about to say something but Omega suddenly delivered a _karate_ strike to the back of his head and knocked him out.

"The rascal had a link with the robot. Was about to order it to fire!"

"Devil. We can't lower the guard until the last second! What a rascal!"

11:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… This places gives me THE vibes… It's like dread was hanging around the air the whole time… It's not good for my nerves… And I can barely focus on the videos…!"

Eisei was sitting on the lower of two bunker beds: he was in a bedroom which had about 8 sets of these beds thus having capacity for 16 users: the walls and floor and ceiling were metallic and there were no windows at all: Eisei had his laptop on his lap and nervously looked around the mostly unlit room from time to time with obvious angst and nervousness: he was sweating, even.

"Focus, man…! Ghosts don't exist…! Stop imaging sounds… There's only me in here..!"

"I wonder about that, Futaba…"

"Grah! You found me! Vadous!"

"Of course. I know the signature this thing gives off."

"Thought as much… The _Danna – sama_ didn't think of that!"

"And the man's fallen, too."

"So you've come to finish me off?"

"On the contrary. To make a deal."

"Deal?"

Vadous suddenly stepped into the room from the south: Eisei gasped, dropped the laptop on the bed and stood up, panicking: Vadous calmly corrected his wrong idea.

"Virus… No… Hioki has been defeated. You needn't continue to pretend to be a sadist."

"So you realized I was pretending, huh…" Eisei sighed.

"Yeah. Hioki was so filled up with the idea that though you were a real one but no… You feared him. You feared being deleted if you didn't behave as he expected you to. So you "acted" the sadist to delude him. But you didn't want to be trapped in that never-ending spiral of violence and fear."

"No… I didn't. Guess it's something Tsukasa left into me…"

"It's no wonder. Despite your attitude… Some of his fears must've remained in you. And you inwardly knew he had a point. Now, I'm not saying you should apologize to him or anything. No. What I want you to is to forget all this world of sex and violence. To go away. I can make Hioki believe I caught you as well."

"To go away…?"

"Yeah. Somewhere away from us. I don't care if you get into a gang or start brawls of stuff like that… As long as you don't involve anyone into this damned world of sadism."

"… Alright… So I only need to vanish from your sight and hearing. Why not? Japan's a big nation. I can go to one of the big towns and mix in with the crowds. Nobody would pay special attention. And since I'm a Navi I can always have Net Battles on the Cyber World too."

"Exactly. Those guys need some time to cool it off. Maybe in some months' time I can convince them that they needn't hate you or have a grudge with you."

"I see… What will you tell Tsukasa?"

"That I put some pressure onto you and you didn't dare to face me alone so you ran away. And that I'm sure you're not coming back." Vadous simply replied.

"OK… Go ahead and blow up this place too… I don't want to feel any more of this dread…"

"Yeah. I'll blow it up: if Anaya was exultant thinking she could hide here and start anew then I'm going to blow that ambition into pieces. That should make the bitch despair. Deserves it."

"Don't underestimate the _Danna_ , though… The guy's going to wait for a chance." Eisei warned.

"I knew that. He's going to be monitored 24/7… Through his own nanomachines… Like how Eclipse kept track of him… Fortunately… She didn't get to realize the existence of the "other front"…"

"I was monitoring the whole "battle" and saw what happened… I'd say you be careful with that woman. She looks like the type that could betray ya any day."

"Of course. I don't trust that woman either."

"Well. I'll be going, then. Guess I'll start by Sapporo. It's pretty far away so it should give me the feeling of being away from you guys."

"Fine."

Eisei closed the laptop and formed a black circle on the ground with a purple rim.

"The _Danna_ has an apartment there. I'll make use of it as a place to stay at…"

"Fine. I don't need to know the details either."

"Well then… See ya around, I guess."

"Remember, Futaba. You might be a copy. But that doesn't rob you of the right to live. To think. To make your decisions. To create _bonds_ with others."

"Bonds, huh… How ironic. And years ago I was telling Tsukasa not to form that "Brother Band" with Hoshikawa… And now I might be forming something like that myself… Life sure is ironic."

"People change."

"Guess that."

Eisei "sunk" into the hole and Vadous simply watched the hole shrink and vanish: he sighed in relief but then heard a chuckle and the figure of a man clad in a monk-like robe stepped forward.

"Foolish human… You will regret coming to my grounds…"

"I've seen you somewhere before…" Vadous frowned and seemed to know him from somewhere else.

"My power is gigantic by now… No foolish puppets and no foolish mortals will stop me… Soon… This world shall become a wasteland… And I shall rule over the survivors… Feeding on their despair and sorrow and on the destruction… Destruction, sorrow and despair… The 3 powers that make me stronger…" The man intoned using the "ware" pronoun and a somewhat old-fashioned speaking style.

"Hmmm?" Vadous didn't seem to get any of that.

"You shall become spatial dust! And your efforts will crumble in just one instant! Victory shall be for those you tried to bury!"

"By all the… Now I recognize you! Osmund Saddler from _Biohazard 4_! The leader of the "Los Iluminados"…! And that means that… You're Nebula Grey!" Vadous cursed.

"Hah, hah, hah. It is too late!"

"I wonder about that. Nebbie!"

"Who…? The renegade soul!"

"Renegade soul? Me? Yeah, sure. How original."

"Ah! Tabuu. Excellent timing."

"I had a hunch there could be some trap by Virus but it turned out to be this thing. I already overwrote the reactor control codes: you can't make it blow up anymore."

"Foolish interloper!"

"Charmed."

Tabuu suddenly showed up there and Nebula Grey cursed as it suddenly shifted to its core form: a blue flame with a white core and four "spooks" forming on the top: Tabuu suddenly flung his golden chain and it began to coil around the core thus trapping it: a roar rang out and a "hole" opened on the ground to make the "monster form" emerge but Tabuu barely bothered to look over his right shoulder: Vadous formed a purple "silhouette" of himself which ran for the monster: it sunk into the "hole" so the monster followed suit and it closed.

"There. My antimatter body double will dispose of that thing and the damage will be contained in the dimension. Let's finish this damned thing already: scans tell me it's the real, original one."

"No! I am beyond death! I am immortal! I overcome Time and Space! I was about to rule this worthless planet!"

"Yeah, yeah. Typical bad loser speech. Bad losers go home."

"Totally."

"You foolish life-forms…!"

Both ignored the thing and formed a "hole" to emerge inside of a large chamber having a large cylinder with cone-like formations atop and below it: several pipes headed for the thing and a control terminal was placed nearby: several warning and caution signs were placed nearby: Tabuu flew for the thing and formed new chains to attach Nebula Grey's core to the thing.

"There. You wanted this thing to blow you here you've got your VIP seat to see it blow up. You're but a damned warmonger and we don't need a warmonger to try to destroy Earth."

"My fate is to rule over all foolish life-forms!"

"Shut up already. Hah!"

Tabuu began to drain the core's energy and it slowly petrified until it was silent and immobile: Vadous had inputted some commands and alarms began to ring out.

"It's going to detonate in 100 seconds. Let's get to the surface."

"Roger that."

Vadous formed the "hole" and both he and Tabuu sunk inside to emerge in the backyard of Virus' hideout mansion where the robot was at: Vadous drew a PET and opened the screen to see live feed of a spot in space high above Earth where there were a few lights signaling orbital satellites: the camera moved towards the left, in the direction of the Moon: a gigantic ball of plasma suddenly grew out of nowhere at some point between the Earth and the Moon: it quickly collapsed into itself and formed a shockwave that eventually died down.

"Good. Two birds killed with one stone. Both the second "Palace" and the real "Nebula Grey". I'm sure of it: that it was the real one. It had the signature of Regal's Mt. Fuji computer. And since that computer is no longer functional then you can't replicate that signature."

"It's taken time and effort but we finally got rid of that warmonger. Let's hope it didn't have time to arrange for anything."

"Yeah. Now let's wait some days to see if things get stable. Then… Back to work. We can't lower the guard on the "other front"."

 _Let's enjoy some days off: got some games pending to finish! Heh, heh!_


	15. Chapter 15: Sweet times

**Chapter 15: Sweet times**

09:09 AM (Japan Time), Saturday August the 20th…

"… OK! We're all here!"

"We called you here for a group meeting."

"Why not? Maybe Delta can tell ya guys about his secret project?"

"Chut! Hiro – kun!"

"I know it! It's a plan to produce Miracle Strawberry Milk!"

"Yaito – sama….!"

"Oh come on. Yaito – chan. Only you would think of that."

"Really…"

"Yuuyami – sama promised me a string of 100 victories!"

"Guts, guts! Guts Man – sama is the strongest!"

"Yeah. And you still can't get past the "A" License Exam."

"Yes, desu. To presume is bad. Desu."

"Of course it is… Right, Raf?"

"Of course, Noa – kun!"

The group had gathered in Akihara City's park and were sitting on the grass forming a circle: they all looked animated.

"Sorry I'm late." Zarashe joined them.

"We had to catch the next train." Beta X admitted.

"Glad you came too, Zarashe! Here, join the community!"

"The Akihara Fellowship?" Yaito joked.

"How funny." Meiru didn't find it funny.

"Yo~… The cloaked traveler showed up!" Forte's voice rang out from Saito's PET.

"Where's Junior?"

"Chasing someone who reeks of Hugo Thief." He laughed.

"YEA~RGH!" A Heel Navi was roaring close by.

"GRAWWWLLL!"

"That's as far as you come!" Red Sword announced.

"Hyu~h! You won't pass!"

"You better give up, you moron!"

"Hmpf… Weakling…"

"Fuck. Jump off from the frying pan into the fire!"

"Heh! Your buddies of rock 'n roll caught the fella! Delta!"

"HUH? Oh come on. Hiro – kun. They're the Hunters' Guild and you know that. Stop making up lame jokes."

"SEYA~H! MY JUSTICE SOUL IS BURNING! DE MUSA~! YUUYAMI KOUTAROU SHALL PUNISH SUCH THIEVES! BY SELLING TO THEM BARGAIN CHIPS! MUSA~!" Higure suddenly yelled from the store.

"Ignore Yamitarou. The guy needs another cold shower." Number Man sighed.

"Sure does!" Saito muttered.

"By the way, Beta… What were you saying on the way here? That there was about to rain carrots?"

"Huh…? Hey! I didn't say that. Where'd you get that idea from, Zarashe – kun?"

"Huh? Weird. Maybe I'm mixing up the character."

"Wouldn't that be Bugs Bunny from the _Looney Tunes_?" Forte offered.

"Ah! That's it, that's it."

"… "And rabbits!"… "Rabbits? Doesn't say rabbit here!"… "Here!"… "And, especially… RABBBITS!"… "Hmmm… What's up, fella?"..."

"Ah yeah! Taz, the Tasmanian Devil… Apparently loves to eat rabbits to the point the guidebook spends a single page announcing that in big letters…" Zarashe laughed.

"My, my. Maybe I'll check it out later." Yaito giggled.

"Don't get odd ideas." Meiru scolded.

"Don't worry, Meiru – chan! I'll invite ya to the premiere."

"What premiere?"

"Of "Tassy, the Akihara Devil!"…"

"Oh come on. That sounds like a poor imitation." Roll sighed.

"Someone save us!" Glyde began to despair.

"Now, now." Hikawa tried to calm him down.

"By the way! Roll! Wouldn't you like to voice Tassy – chan?"

"I'll pass. I'm sure you'll have forgotten by tomorrow." Roll merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Tee, heh, heh! Wait 'n see!"

"Delta here has a plot for Halloween!"

"Chut!" Delta nervously scolded.

"Look forward to it!"

"A super powerful Battle Chip?" Dekao eagerly asked.

"Of course not." Tomono muttered.

"Aw man."

"You're the one who makes up expectations out of nowhere. It's obvious that he means the Halloween disguise." Hikawa sighed.

"Heh! They need some Hugo Brains!" Rafael laughed.

"Why not?" Forte laughed as well.

"So! I say that we enjoy the remaining summer vacations: this time around we'll be able to truly enjoy them!" Netto rallied.

"And enjoy trying to skip homework? Netto – ku~n!"

"Not the glitch mode again." Netto sighed.

"Yessir. Come back from a vacation at Glitch City. Check their channel out for awesome remixes!"

"Ah yeah… That group of remixers that share a YouTube channel…"

"Yeah! You can't miss their Achroma remix! Although… They call him "Colress" in the overseas version… So you'll have to search for "black and white 2 Colress remix"!" Saito grinned.

"Is that a Program Advance?" Dekao eagerly asked.

"You're not listening, are you?" Meiru scolded.

"Wha! Sorry! I was thinking of my 100 victories streak!"

"There's no such thing. Try beating the "A" License Exam and then we'll talk about that. Fatman." Meiru fumed.

"E~H?"

"Same for you, Gorilla Man."

"Guts, guts! Guts Man will use a dice to win!"

"Don't steal my explosive dice next!" Number Man gasped.

"Hello. It would seem the morale is high." Serenade greeted.

"Ah! Serenade. Yeah. As you can see. By the way! What about your pal? Isn't the guy going to visit the town one day?"

"Maybe so. I do not know what he intends to do."

"For now I'd rather stay here. Too many crazy happenings starting with the Chip Store owner." Urakawa sighed.

"By the way… Obihiro and his cousin are still overseas?" Forte asked of Saito.

"I think so. They must be about to find the Great Scott's Treasure by solving a mysterious arcane message!"

"Huff! That sounds like an _Indiana Jones_ parody." Netto muttered.

"Oho. Wouldn't surprise me. But it's too early there to visit them so I'll wait some hours. In the meanwhile… Hugo Scott! For whoever wants to become Scottish!" Forte announced.

"I don't see the point." Zero muttered close by.

"There surely isn't one." Gate Man guessed.

"Thought as much." Meijin muttered next.

"Hugo Roads! For those who like traveling!"

"Is that a new researcher, Meijin?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Hakase…! It's not been 20 days yet and you're back to work? You should've picked a whole month!"

"Sorry. But with all these happenings… It was the only way I could properly focus on keeping the worry at bay… Anyway… A new researcher will be joining us, Meijin?"

"No, sir! It's Forte, who's kidding around."

"Ah! I see. Oh well. Back to work…"

"And don't overdo it, hakase!"

"I know."

"Let's hope so." The twins muttered.

"Now, now! Hugo Cherry! For those who want to be cherry all day long! And Hugo Blue! For fans of the Big Blue! And Hugo Mute! For fans of Mute City!"

"Ah! Those 2 famed F-Zero tracks…!" Akashi grinned.

"Is that a foreign burger?" Dekao asked.

"Of course not. It's a game, man." Akashi sighed.

"Fatman will be fatman. Only thinking about food!"

"UWA~H! I'M SORRY, MEIRU~!"

"Whine away!" Rafael laughed.

"Oh come on. Don't overdo it, Raf!"

"I underdo it instead!"

"Anyway! Let's go back to the main topic: to enjoy these 4 weeks of summer we've still got! But let's not split: let's go to the beach!"

"Beware: Ookarada will make all water jump off!"

"WHY, YOU~…!"

"Sounds like fun! Let's go there… Tomorrow! And spend the day there!"

10:20 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well, Blues. You've done a good job these days protecting my honor and making sure things worked smoothly."

"Thank you very much, Enzan – sama."

"Did that guy drop by, by the way?"

"Search Man? Did so and helped me repel High – Max. Haven't seen him again since then."

"Hum. Fine."

"Or so you though. Ijuuin."

"Geh! I knew it! You had Search Man lay in wait!"

"Yeah. So that you don't run away!"

"Why do you need to do this?"

"Hmpf. It's my way of having some special fun."

"Oh come on. Why me?"

"You're amusing, Ijuuin."

"Don't tell me."

Enzan was talking with Blues and was pretty much satisfied until Laika's voice rang out and he opened his screen: Enzan groaned, Laika smirked and both Navis sighed in defeat.

"That "mask" of pride that you wear… Is amusing to study."

"Shoo, shoo. Go back to your base, General Ivan!"

"Not so fast. There's something I've noticed about you."

"What next?" He groaned.

"You will invent the mask of suggestion."

"HUH? What nonsense is that?" Enzan grumbled.

"I mean to say that you'll "suggest" things to people with your glare. Like… That you're a 21st century nobleman."

"I'm not a nobleman and stop telling me so much CRAP. Go back!"

"Heh, heh. You'd prefer a legion of Viruses to me?"

"Yeah, I do! Now scram!"

"Search Man analyzed and figured out that…"

"Laika – sama, sir, there's no such…!"

"…you like black bittersweet coffee imported from Brazil."

"Oh come on. I drink normal coffee and I get it on the vending machine like any of the employees!"

"Is that so? My, my."

"Laika – sama, sir! There's no such analysis! Sir!" Search Man protested with a sigh.

"Really…" Blues fumed.

"Stop teasing me or provoking me or whatever it is. I've got to make up for all these wasted days. Go broom the yard!"

"Sure. Search Man, summon the Broom Sergeant."

"There's no such staff! Sir!"

"Then we'll recruit one through the Abode of Brooms."

"Stop mixing up _Harry Potter_ and do something useful! Like figuring out what the Sharo Mafia is up to this time around!" Enzan was desperately trying to shake him off.

"Hum! Looks like a storm is about to unleash. Let's go, Search Man. We need to figure out if the storm will be a storm or it'll be a lil storm."

"I fail to see the point, Laika – sama, sir!" He protested.

"Take care, Ijuuin. Next time let's hang out in a bar." He blinked him an eye and smiled.

"I pass!" Enzan grumbled.

Search Man left the system and both Enzan and Blues sighed in relief: Enzan resumed working on the program.

"That guy…! He needs a hot shower to melt that ice! SHEESH!"

"Huff. Enzan – sama, sir… Please calm down, sir… How lovely…"

08:18 AM (Scotland Time)…

"… Hmmm? Hey. Shun – kun. Do you know someone named "Marsus Warriorus"?"

"Huh? No. Don't know them."

"Hmmm… What a weird email. It's text, yeah, but… It doesn't seem to make much sense… "Obitarou & Zebra Total Fortune Evacuater Error Local Vector!"…"

"HUH? Doesn't make any sense to begin with!"

Akira had been working with his laptop after he and Obihiro had finished having breakfast: he frowned when he received an email and quoted the contents to Obihiro: he looked equally baffled.

"Hi there."

"Ah! Blood Shadow. Good timing. We got a weird email."

"Weird email?"

"Can you make any sense out of it?"

"Let's see… Oh come on. The sender name…! Sir Omega…!"

"Huh? Omega sent this?"

"Crap. The joker mode's back on?"

"Afraid so…!"

Blood Shadow visited Obihiro's PC and looked at the email to then groan in annoyance: both grumbled once they realized the sender's identity.

"And this is… A code taken from _Tintin: The Blue Lotus_!"

"How does it work like?"

"Pick the first two letters or, in some cases, three first letters of all words and leave the loose letters as they are… Then you'll get a consistent English message… So the message is… "Obi & Zeta Forever Love!"…"

"E~H!"

"He noticed, huh." Akira grumbled.

"Don't ask me how." Blood Shadow sighed.

"Got a hunch." Akira was getting annoyed.

"Akira…!" Obihiro scolded.

"I wasn't going to toss all of that! I simply kept in on the storage room and properly locked!" Akira replied.

"Well, this is the result of that!"

"Like I could've predicted that!"

"Now, now…!" Blood Shadow tried to calm them down.

"Bloody~ Shadowy~… The _Shuuen no Mono_ 's coming… It's about to steal my looks!" Sigma joked over his radio.

"How FUNNY!" He fumed.

"SSSSPIDERRRSSSS!" A voice rang out.

"Wha!"

"Whoa!"

"Beware! Spider Man V 20128 is back!"

Omega suddenly landed next to Obihiro from the ceiling and both gasped: he had a broad grin and looked amused.

"And there I told B-B-B-B-Bertie~ that there's no other than Brad Shad so that he fulfills his destiny~!" He suddenly announced.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Akira questioned.

"Who's "Bertie"?"

"Brad Shad's Bahamas half-cousin!"

"Blood Shadow's a Navi just like you! He can't have cousins!"

"But what if the fella proclaimed to be so?"

"Oh come on." Obihiro groaned.

"Huh… Sir Omega, sir…" Sigma called out in a whisper.

"Don't worry, Stigma Man! I'm in charge… of the show! So let's continue!"

"S-Stigma…?" Sigma groaned.

"Join the club." Blood Shadow drily suggested.

"I get the irony." Sigma sighed.

"Beware! Tab – chan is going to tab a stab!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure." Both skeptically replied.

"Moon Ace and Acid Disaster will save the world!"

"Never heard of those." Both replied.

"They're in your imagination!" Omega laughed.

"Which means they're characters you've made up. Why don't you write a short story or a one-shot with them on it?" Akira tried to make him leave the scene.

"Heh! Good idea, Zeta – chan!"

"That "chan" was unnecessary. And my name's Akira. Zeta is but my hacker nickname."

"I knew that! _Akiramenai_ ~!"

"Stop with that "don't give u~p!" joke!" Akira groaned.

"O-ME-GA~!" Vadous roared.

"Oops. _Shachou_ found out that Tab – chan hacked his _Biohazard Revelations_ save file!"

"Tabuu didn't hack my 3DS, you moron! Stop bothering people: do something productive! Like training!"

"Alright! I'll go join the Wii Fit Trainer for some gymnastics! See ya in Fit Land! Yahoo! Express route: on! Let's borrow the _Millennium Falcon_ and jump to the infinite and beyond!" He began to jump around.

He finally vanished with a flash, ran past Blood Shadow while leaving a "kiss" sticker on his right cheek and was out of sight: Blood Shadow fumed and pulled it off with his left hand.

"All's gone mad again?" Obihiro groaned.

"So it'd seem…! Grah! I need some outside air!" Akira ran off.

"Why does it always end like this?" Blood Shadow cursed.

"Someone wants to be ironic with us!" Obihiro fumed.

22:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! It'd seem this front will remain stable for some time. We made sure to split the Z – Militia members on 3 different prisons and I placed special security on them. High – Max is also locked at one hi – security prison too. And so is Hioki."

"Good, _aibou_. The "Committee" can take care of their usual things: to be on the lookout for anything on the underground. Let's make sure to take out anyone who tries to control several blokes at the same time. As long as only weaklings who're eager to fight each other remain… Then the underground isn't that much of a threat."

"Exactly."

Vadous and Tabuu were talking as they sat on a bench located near the coast somewhere: a square-shaped concrete building was located behind them: Tabuu had shed the armor and wore normal clothing like a gray overcoat, a hat, sunglasses, brown pants, white socks and brown shoes: he was slightly taller than Vadous.

"However… We can't lower the guard. There's something that could pose trouble… The R – Nation… And their satellites…"

"Ah, those. I already hijacked all of them and had them crash against each other. The "Committee" has also managed to figure out their parts smugglers and switches the parts they bring for low-quality parts so that their rockets break down on 85% of the launches." Vadous replied.

"Ah. Good enough. Yet… Don't be too confident. They might pay Choina a good sum to have Choina launch their satellites into orbit…"

"I thought of that too. But Choina is eager to deploy its own satellite fleet and won't let anyone else rob them of that "supremacy"… I also have agents there who sabotage those. But in a different manner. Chinese keep a tight guard over the rockets… But not over the satellites… So we swap some components like the laser gun or the hypnosis radio antenna for placebos. And even if they get to orbit… They're harmless."

"Excellent. What do you think about "that" nation, though?"

"You mean Iran? I've been spying there too. And I know the international community is placing pressure there."

"Do you really think they'll use atomic weapons?"

"They're not stupid. They know that doing that would mean retaliation. No. They're just imitating the major nations and their behavior during the Cold War… It's deterrent. No country, not even North Korea, seriously wants to use those weapons. They're deterrents to try to scare off other countries. That's all."

"Good. What about the Middle East and Africa?"

"Too many problems there… And it's not my place to fix them because it involves the citizens there… I know I could do something about it yet… It's a complicated terrain. I don't want to make a wrong decision that could have grave consequences."

"Better leave them as they are, I'd say."

"Yeah. Too much gloomy talk, though. Let's try switching to a better topic…"

"Of course. My agents report that Death Shadow is behaving and isn't up to anything."

"How'd you manage to make that guy behave?"

"Oh, I simply swapped his memories for fake ones. And teamed him up with a couple of researchers. He's eager to test new materials and change their atomic structure to try to make those stronger. I filled his head with that so he doesn't think of anything but that. I did make sure he can't produce more "Omicron Factor" too… And to greatly reduce his battle potential too…" Tabuu explained.

"I see."

"I transferred some files to your PC so that you can later check out how things unfolded there. I find it somewhat ironic, even. You'll see why if you check those out."

"Guess that. Anyway… Have you ever found an alien civilization out there while you were cataloguing planets?"

"I did find remains of one… There was a mining base in a dwarf planet… But it'd been abandoned for a long time… Their mining technology was strong. I think they quit because they didn't find it."

"You mean that they were looking for a specific mineral or metal but it turned out it didn't exist in that planet?"

"Yeah. There were no computers or anything that I could use to figure out more about them. No writing either. Nothing. They'd managed to drill a shaft 500 meters deep but that's all. There was no trace of the equipment used to done so. Only a dome that was the base itself. But the dome's insides had nothing but the shaft."

"Maybe they just brought the minimum required equipment so that they could leave immediately in case they didn't find what they wanted. Interesting… Nothing else?"

"I found remains of a probe too but were too small to make out anything consistent save that the outer covering was made of a combination of known alloys… Nothing too spectacular…"

"Maybe you had bad luck and the route they had you travel was one that hadn't been explored…"

"Feels like it. There were important gaps between planets."

"So we're not alone out there yet… Maybe there aren't that many civilizations out there… Say. Do you think your "Creators" had something to do with that guy? Y'know, the black dot…"

"Oh yes. I know whom you mean, of course. I should check that place once more. I wouldn't be surprised if it was another of their arrogances. Claiming they'd created an artificial one when it was just a spheroid with some decoration and optical tricks…"

"Sounds like it indeed." Vadous wasn't surprised.

"You forwarded the info about Toba to the "Committee" too?" Tabuu asked.

"Of course. And to Obihiro and Zeta too. I need them to keep an eye on that woman just in case. She's not trustable. But then again she doesn't seem to be that capable… Or maybe that's what she wants to make us believe. Oh well. If she does anything that brings harm along it then we'll have a reason to detain her."

"Good. We must keep an eye out for any loose ends. Keitai and Alive are also properly locked up?"

"Yeah. In different prisons too. Strict watch is kept on them."

"That woman who was an Executive of the "Common Patterns" is also under watch?"

"Of course. Chief Lezareno is taking care of that matter because it's personal. They'd known each other when they worked in the NRO several years ago."

"Yes, I'd heard about that."

"I've heard about Mr. V and Mr. T having a date~!"

"Omega! Heck! You never know when to lay quiet?"

"I busted the whole Radio Legion! And I did power them up!"

Omega suddenly showed up behind them and both sighed.

"I know something, _shachou_ ~!"

"What?" He rolled his eyes.

"Kaiba – _shachou_ will sign a deal with ya~!"

"Kaiba Seto? Oh come on. He's a _manga_ character to begin with."

"But he'll smash it all!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Full speed ahead! Or so he says."

"Is that all?" Tabuu asked.

"Not yet! Goris is going to punch and push a giant boulder!"

"Goris? Who's that?"

"Everyone's favorite fella! The fella who never disappointed Chief Lezareno's lookalike!" Omega laughed.

"… Oh come on. Is that Chris Redfield?"

"Goris!"

"Why "Goris"?" Tabuu didn't seem to get the point.

"From "gorilla"! Because he looks and acts like one with such brute strength and all! Heh, heh!"

"Yeah, yeah. If that's all…"

"For now! I'm going to get ready to appeal as handsome to B-B-B-B-Bertie~ by the time we go back there~!"

He ran back inside of the building and both sighed again: Omega's behavior could turn exasperating from time to time.

"Oh well. Let's forget the guy for now. Point is: things are stable and let's hope they continue to be for some more months."

"Yes, let's hope so. I'll be exploring outer space to make sure to locate any possible problems… I might take a while but I'll make sure to keep you up-to-date with FTL transmissions."

"Do as you like."

"Thanks. It's been a while since I last had a tour. I want to stretch my wings for a bit. Although I'll be using FTL travel, of course. I plan on inspecting a 5 light-year radius from Earth."

"It'll take time, no?"

"I can deploy probes that have planet detection systems: they'll jump to planets and scan them from orbit to try to see if there's anything in them… I know a lot of extra-solar planets have been found over these last years but we have no means of knowing if there's any kind of life in them."

"OK. Sorry for the bother, Tabuu."

"Don't mind it. It'll be interesting."

"As for me… I think I'll try to interact a bit more with the twins. Maybe I can tell them some more things they might want to know. They'll keep them secret, so…" Vadous smiled.

"That's a good idea. You need to prove you're not anti-social."

"Yeah, I know. It's getting cold so let's go back inside."

"Of course. A new period of stability's begun. Let's celebrate."

"Maybe some _champagne_ will do?"

Both laughed at the joke as they looked towards the starry skies…

 **THE END**


End file.
